History Recap / NeonGenesisEvangelionEpisode25LoveIsDestructive

* {{Irony}}: The Japanese government and the JSSDF attack NERV, operating under the impression that the organisation is attempting to initiate Third Impact and must be destroy prevent it from happening. Unbeknownst to themselves, SEELE are using them as a blunt instrument to remove the only obstacle that prevents them from initiating their ''own'' version of Third Impact.
* LeaveNoSurvivors: In quick scene of an unarmed NERV technician trying to surrender, the JSSDF quickly makes it clear that this is their intention. The poor sod is shot in the head and then {{Double Tap}}ped for this attempt.

* SlasherSmile: The MP Evas all has a permanent one.

** Asuka upon realizing that the Lance of Longinus has penetrated Unit-02's AT Field and is heading straight for its head.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/end_of_evangelion_poster.jpg]]

* BigDamnHeroes

* ColdOpening

* NonDubbedGrunts: In the Netflix European Spanish dub, Shinji's screaming upon seeing Unit-02's remains is left in by Creator/MegumiOgata.

* DubInducedPlotHole: Manga's English translation has Misato say the following on the nature of Adam and Lilith: "Mankind was spawned from a being called Lilith, just like Adam was." A more correct translation of the original Japanese would be "Mankind was spawned from ''a being like Adam called Lilith.''" Needless to say, it spread a bit of confusion in the English-speaking fanbase about the relationship between Lilith and Adam.

* PrecisionFStrike
** In the Manga English dub, Shinji complains that Misato doesn't understand what it's like to be him. Her response?

** Shinji himself also gets one in the Manga dub. After he finishes masturbating to Asuka's exposed body, he says, "[[{{Understatement}} I'm so fucked up]]."

* DubInducedPlotHole: The English translation has Misato say the following on the nature of Adam and Lilith: "Mankind was spawned from a being called Lilith, just like Adam was." A more correct translation of the original Japanese would be "Mankind was spawned from ''a being like Adam called Lilith.''" Needless to say, it spread a bit of confusion in the English-speaking fanbase about the relationship between Lilith and Adam.

** Happens to one of the MP Evas by hands of Asuka and Unit-02. The upper half of said MP Eva literally goes ''flying'' and ''spins'' at the same time.

** Asuka upon realizing that the Lance of Longinus has penetrated Unit 02's AT Field and is heading straight for its head.

** In the English dub, Shinji complains that Misato doesn't understand what it's like to be him. Her response?

** Shinji himself also gets one in the dub. After he finishes masturbating to Asuka's exposed body, he says, "[[{{Understatement}} I'm so fucked up]]."

At high noon, a desolate Shinji stands at the lakeside overlooking the flooded ruins of Tokyo-3, in the same spot Misato left him the night before, his shirt and hair dripping wet, as if he has attempted to drown himself. Some time later, he visits a sedated Asuka in the Geofront's hospital. He begs her to wake up, saying he cannot face either Rei or Misato because they both scare him. Growing increasingly desperate in his pleas, Shinji grabs Asuka's shoulder and starts shaking her more and more violently; he ends up accidentally ripping her shirt open and exposing her breasts. Shinji stands stunned for a moment before he proceeds to lock the door to the room and masturbate to the sight. Looking at his semen-smeared hand, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he despairs at what he has done]].

SEELE meets with Gendo and Fuyutsuki to deliver an ultimatum: With the Lance of Longinus out of reach, SEELE cannot use Lilith to kickstart Instrumentality, so it needs her offspring (EVA Unit-01) to implement and control the process. Gendo refuses to surrender the EVA to them: "Death creates nothing." An upset Keel ends the meeting: "Then you deserve death!" Fuyutsuki briefly talks to Gendo afterwards, commenting they must both carry out Yui's wishes regardless of what happens. Sometime during the night, Rei awakens, then walks out of her apartment, never to return, but not before smashing Gendo's old glasses, leaving the pieces on the floor. Meanwhile, in Misato's apartment, Shinji lies in bed and stares out into the air to the sound of silence; his SDAT has run out of batteries.

SEELE meets with Gendo and Fuyutsuki to deliver an ultimatum: With the Lance of Longinus out of reach, SEELE cannot use Lilith to kickstart Instrumentality, so it needs her offspring (EVA Unit-01) to implement and control the process. Gendo refuses to surrender the EVA to them: "Death creates nothing." An upset Keel ends the meeting: "Then you deserve death!" Gendo and Fuyutsuki briefly talk afterwards, affirming to each other that they both will carry out Yui's wishes regardless of what happens. Sometime during the night, Rei awakens, then walks out of her apartment, never to return, but not before smashing Gendo's old glasses, leaving the pieces on the floor. Meanwhile, in Misato's apartment, Shinji lies in bed and stares out into the air to the sound of silence; his SDAT has run out of batteries.

SEELE meets with Gendo and Fuyutsuki to deliver an ultimatum: With the Lance of Longinus out of reach, SEELE cannot use Lilith to kickstart Instrumentality, so it needs her offspring (EVA Unit-01) to implement and control the process. Gendo refuses to surrender the EVA to them: "Death creates nothing." An upset Keel ends the meeting: "Then you deserve death!" Gendo and Fuyutsuki briefly talk afterwards, affirming that they both will carry out Yui's wishes regardless of what happens. Sometime during the night, Rei awakens, then walks out of her apartment, never to return, but not before smashing Gendo's old glasses, leaving the pieces on the floor. Meanwhile, in Misato's apartment, Shinji lies in bed and stares out into the air to the sound of silence; his SDAT has run out of batteries.

SEELE meets with Gendo and Fuyutsuki to deliver an ultimatum: With the Lance of Longinus out of reach, SEELE cannot use Lilith to kickstart Instrumentality, so it needs her offspring (EVA Unit-01) to implement and control the process. Gendo refuses to surrender the EVA to them: "Death creates nothing." An upset Keel ends the meeting: "Then you deserve death!" Sometime during the night, Rei awakens, then walks out of her apartment, never to return, but not before smashing Gendo's old glasses, leaving the pieces on the floor. Meanwhile, in Misato's apartment, Shinji lies in bed and stares out into the air to the sound of silence; his SDAT has run out of batteries.

It is night at the Geofront. NERV has sealed off HQ and placed everyone on alert. In Central Dogma, Maya, Hyuga, and Aoba wonder why NERV has gone into lockdown, as Kaworu--the last Angel--is now dead. Aoba believes NERV will be disbanded, but also wonders what will happen to both the Evangelions and NERV personnel. Hyuga says they have no other choice but to wait for the Human Instrumentality Project scheduled by the high command. Meanwhile, Misato is overlooking the Geofront's lake in her car. She quietly contemplates a grim discovery she recently uncovered, namely the truth behind the Instrumentality Project: it is a plan to end mankind's existence as separate individuals via the merging of every living person together into one being--and as Kaji predicted, SEELE needs the [=EVAs=] to pull it off.

Early the next morning, Misato is hiding in a server room as she hacks into the MAGI. She uncovers classified information on Second Impact, but moments later, the server is suddenly locked. She thinks someone found her out, but quickly concludes something else: NERV has gone on full alert. SEELE cuts NERV's communication lines and places the MAGI under attack from its sister units in other countries; Fuyutsuki deduces that SEELE will use all of its resources to destroy NERV. As Misato heads back to Central Dogma, she is briefed by Hyuga over her phone, who tells her that NERV has lost its special legal status and is under orders to surrender unconditionally to the Japanese government--and that Ritsuko has been released from captivity to help repel the hacking attempt on the MAGI. Ritsuko succeeds in blocking the hack, but Misato, Gendo, and Fuyutsuki all know it was SEELE's opening salvo.

Fuyutsuki realizes the futility of Misato's efforts, knowing NERV will be overrun in due time. Gendo rises from his seat and leaves for Terminal Dogma, asking Fuyutsuki to see the fight through to the end; Fuyutsuki asks Gendo to give Yui his regards. As Gendou leaves, a surveillance camera spots Shinji hiding under a flight of stairs at the border of the front line--with JSSDF soldiers closing in on his location. Misato buys Shinji some time by issuing an order to seal off most of the complex with Bakelite, then hands command over to Hyuga before heading out to save Shinji herself.

Misato drives Shinji towards the EVA cage, and along the way, she tells him that SEELE initiated Second Impact--and they plan to trigger Third Impact by using the Evangelions. SEELE knew all along about the fundamental conflict between Angels and humans: Just as the Angels spawned from a source of life named Adam, mankind spawned from Lilith (which makes humanity ''the 18th Angel''). Though Lilith and Adam's offspring were, at their core, the same kind of creature, the latter gave up its human form and therefore couldn't co-exist with humanity. Misato tells Shinji that humanity's only chance of survival is using the Evangelions to hold off the invasion, as SEELE will surely use the Mass-Produced Evangelion series to capture the [=EVAs=] and start Instrumentality. Shinji stays unresponsive until news of Asuka's re-awakening reaches Misato.

SEELE also becomes responsive when they hear about Unit-02: They order the Mass-Produced [=EVAs=] into battle. Dropped from specialized airships, nine white [=EVAs=]--marked as Units 05 through 13 and all equipped with S[[superscript:2]] Engines and controlled by dummy plugs--hover down on bird-like wings and land in the Geofront. They waste no time in surrounding Unit-02, which is running on battery power--but despite this setback, Asuka boasts that she can and will destroy them all.

Misato and Shinji close in on the elevator to the EVA cage, but they are ambushed by a JSSDF patrol. Misato is shot in the torso as the two manage to escape; the soldiers consider pursuing them for a moment, but retreat when they learn the area is scheduled for demolition. Misato and Shinji reach the elevator, but Misato nearly collapses on the spot from her injuries. Mustering up what remains of her rapidly dwindling strength, she puts on a brave face, forces herself to her feet, and tells Shinji he must reach Unit-01 and pilot it if he wants to survive--and that, from here on out, he will be on his own. Shinji breaks down crying and refuses, calling himself a horrible person for what he did to Kaworu and Asuka, and declares he'd rather do nothing since piloting Unit-01 has only resulted in misery and led him to hurting and killing people. Misato answers that he must face what he did and accept it instead of giving up, or she will never forgive him. She then leans in and kisses him deeply--"That was an adult kiss. We'll do the rest when you get back."--then hands a shocked Shinji her pendant and pushes him into the elevator. Misato gives Shinji one last smile as she presses the elevator button. As soon as the doors close and Shinji is out of view, she collapses from exhaustion and bleeds out on the floor. With her least breaths, she asks Kaji for forgiveness, wondering if she did the right things. The last thing Misato sees is a ghostly Rei standing over her...right before the floor explodes and tears her body into pieces. In the elevator, Shinji wipes his mouth and realizes he has Misato's blood on him. He cries as he travels, alone and afraid, to the EVA cage.

In the fight against the MP [=EVAs=], Asuka has gained the upper hand; she has maimed almost every one of the [=EVAs=] to the point where they can't fight back. Then one of them throws a copy of the Lance of Longinus at her. The faux Lance penetrates Unit-02's AT Field and slams right into the EVA's face, forcing Asuka to scream out in pain and panic. Unit-02 falls over backwards, but in spite of the pain, Asuka makes a frantic attempt to get back on her feet--just as the EVA's battery runs dry and leaves her helpless. The downed MP [=EVAs=], still fully active due to their S[[superscript:2]] engines, rises to their feet despite their injures, before they converge on Unit-02 like a flock of vultures and brutally rip the EVA apart.

Despite heavily casualties, the remaining personnel in Central Dogma manage to hold the line against the invading soldiers. Hyuga wonders why the JSSDF have not just outright nuked NERV, seeing how they appear unwilling to take any prisoners. Aoba guesses that the only reason they are using any restraint at all is because they want to capture the MAGI intact, he just hopes they won't be using any bio-chemical weapons to achieve it. "That or a N[[superscript:2]] mine," replies Hyuga -- at which point the JSSDF drops an N[[superscript:2]] mine on top of the Geofront, which blows away the protective dome. In the meantime, the JSSDF commander receives updates from the ground forces, namely that they have been able to locate and "capture" Unit-01, and they have discovered Unit-02 on the bottom of the Geofront lake. The commander orders that the EVA is to be bombed with depth charges. Asuka finally regains consciousness inside the EVA (much to her surprise), but the JSSDF's bombing sends her into a panic; she declares in a mantra that she doesn't want to die. As she does this, another voice in the entry plug starts softy whispering to her, telling her that she will survive and it will help her and protect her, and Asuka recognizes the voice as her mother's. Making mental contact her mother's soul, Asuka realizes that she had been inside the EVA, watching over her all along. Reunited with her mother, Asuka synchronizes with Unit-02 and rises from the lake, then annihilates a heavy portion of the JSSDF ranks, who cannot get through Unit-02's AT Field. After desperately trying to hammer the EVA with everything they got, but to absolutely no effect, the soldiers instead focus on Unit-02's power cable and manage to cut it, but Asuka refuses to let a little thing like a lack of power to the EVA stop her now.

Despite heavily casualties, the remaining personnel in Central Dogma manage to hold the line against the invading soldiers. Hyuga wonders why the JSSDF have not just outright nuked NERV, seeing how they appear unwilling to take any prisoners. Aoba guesses that the only reason they are using any restraint at all is because they want to capture the MAGI intact, he just hopes they won't be using any bio-chemical weapons to achieve it. "That or a N[[superscript:2]] mine," replies Hyuga -- at which point the JSSDF drops an N[[superscript:2]] mine on top of the Geofront, which blows away the protective dome. In the meantime, the ground forces has located Unit-01 and "captured" it, and when they discover Unit-02 on the bottom of the Geofront lake, they decide to bomb that EVA with depth charges. Asuka finally regains consciousness inside the EVA (much to her surprise), but the JSSDF's bombing sends her into a panic; she declares in a mantra that she doesn't want to die. As she does this, another voice in the entry plug starts softy whispering to her, telling her that she will survive and it will help her and protect her, and Asuka recognizes the voice as her mother's. Making mental contact her mother's soul, Asuka realizes that she had been inside the EVA, watching over her all along. Reunited with her mother, Asuka synchronizes with Unit-02 and rises from the lake, then annihilates a heavy portion of the JSSDF ranks, who cannot get through Unit-02's AT Field. After desperately trying to hammer the EVA with everything they got, but to absolutely no effect, the soldiers instead focus on Unit-02's power cable and manage to cut it, but Asuka refuses to let a little thing like a lack of power to the EVA stop her now.

Despite heavily casualties, the remaining personnel in Central Dogma manage to hold the line against the invading soldiers. Hyuga wonders why the JSSDF have not just outright nuked NERV, seeing how they appear unwilling to take any prisoners. Aoba guesses that the only reason they are using any restraint at all is because they want to capture the MAGI intact, he just hopes they won't be using any bio-chemical weapons to achieve it. "That or a N[[superscript:2]] mine," replies Hyuga -- at which point the JSSDF drops an N[[superscript:2]] mine on top of the Geofront, which blows away the protective dome. The military captures Unit-01, and when they discover Unit-02 on the bottom of the Geofront lake, they decide to bomb that EVA with depth charges. Asuka finally regains consciousness inside the EVA (much to her surprise), but the JSSDF's bombing sends her into a panic; she declares in a mantra that she doesn't want to die. As she does this, another voice in the entry plug starts softy whispering to her, telling her that she will survive and it will help her and protect her, and Asuka recognizes the voice as her mother's. Making mental contact her mother's soul, Asuka realizes that she had been inside the EVA, watching over her all along. Reunited with her mother, Asuka synchronizes with Unit-02 and rises from the lake, then annihilates a heavy portion of the JSSDF ranks, who cannot get through Unit-02's AT Field. After desperately trying to hammer the EVA with everything they got, but to absolutely no effect, the soldiers instead focus on Unit-02's power cable and manage to cut it, but Asuka refuses to let a little thing like a lack of power to the EVA stop her now.

With the hacking attempt foiled, Keel declares that it means SEELE will have to use the more direct and bloody approach, and calls for the invasion force to be given the signal to go ahead. By using their latent control over the UN, SEELE has convinced the leaders of the Japanese government that NERV is planning initiate Third Impact. The prime minister has in turn deployed a large JSSDF detachment, consisting of infantry and tanks with air support, to Tokyo-3 with orders to take NERV Headquarters and capture the [=EVAs=]. As soon as they have been given the go-ahead, the JSSDF wastes no time in taking out all of NERV's surveillance equipment on the surface, before entering the Geofront ''en masse'', slaughtering the unprepared and ill-equipped NERV personnel on sight. "After all we've been through, our final enemy is our fellow man," comments Fuyutsuki dryly, as frantic reports of security breaches and fighting with hostile forces on several levels of the complex keeps coming in. As Misato directs the defense against the invasion, she realizes the EVA pilots will become a high-priority target for the invaders. She has Asuka inserted into Unit-02 and hidden on the bottom of the Geofront lake to keep both the EVA and its pilot safe. The locations of Shinji and Rei remain unknown.

By using their latent control over the UN, SEELE has convinced the leaders of the Japanese government that NERV is planning initiate Third Impact. The prime minister orders a large JSSDF detachment, consisting of infantry and tanks with air support, to take NERV Headquarters and capture the [=EVAs=]. As soon as they have been given the go-ahead, the JSSDF wastes no time in taking out all of NERV's surveillance equipment on the surface, before entering the Geofront ''en masse'', slaughtering the unprepared and ill-equipped NERV personnel on sight. "After all we've been through, our final enemy is our fellow man," comments Fuyutsuki dryly, as frantic reports of security breaches and fighting with hostile forces on several levels of the complex keeps coming in. As Misato directs the defense against the invasion, she realizes the EVA pilots will become a high-priority target for the invaders. She has Asuka inserted into Unit-02 and hidden on the bottom of the Geofront lake to keep both the EVA and its pilot safe. The locations of Shinji and Rei remain unknown.

Despite heavily casualties, the remaining personnel in Central Dogma manage to hold the line against the invading soldiers. Hyuga wonders why the JSSDF have not just outright nuked NERV, seeing how they appear unwilling to take any prisoners. Aoba guesses that the only reason they are using any restraint at all is because they want to capture the MAGI intact, he just hopes they won't be using any bio-chemical weapons to achieve it. "That or a N
mine," replies Hyuga -- at which point the JSSDF drops an N
mine on top of the Geofront, which blows away the protective dome. The military captures Unit-01, and when they discover Unit-02 on the bottom of the Geofront lake, they decide to bomb that EVA with depth charges. Asuka finally regains consciousness inside the EVA (much to her surprise), but the JSSDF's bombing sends her into a panic; she declares in a mantra that she doesn't want to die. As she does this, another voice in the entry plug starts softy whispering to her, telling her that she will survive and it will help her and protect her, and Asuka recognizes the voice as her mother's. Making mental contact her mother's soul, Asuka realizes that she had been inside the EVA, watching over her all along. Reunited with her mother, Asuka synchronizes with Unit-02 and rises from the lake, then annihilates a heavy portion of the JSSDF ranks, who cannot get through Unit-02's AT Field. After desperately trying to hammer the EVA with everything they got, but to absolutely no effect, the soldiers instead focus on Unit-02's power cable and manage to cut it, but Asuka refuses to let a little thing like a lack of power to the EVA stop her now.

SEELE meets with Gendo and Fuyutsuki to deliver an ultimatum: With the Lance of Longinus out of reach, SEELE cannot use Lilith to kickstart Instrumentality, so it needs her offspring (EVA Unit-01) to implement and control the process. Gendo refuses to surrender the EVA to them: "Death creates nothing." An upset Keel ends the meeting: "Then you deserve death!" Sometime during the night, Rei awakens, then walks out of her apartment, never to return, leaving Gendo's old glasses broken on the floor. Meanwhile, in Misato's apartment, Shinji lies in bed and stares out into the air to the sound of silence; his SDAT has run out of batteries.

Despite heavily casualties, the remaining personnel in Central Dogma manage to hold the line against the invading soldiers. Hyuga wonders why the JSSDF have not just outright nuked NERV, seeing how they appear unwilling to take any prisoners. Aoba guesses that the only reason they are using any restraint at all is because they want to capture the MAGI intact, he just hopes they won't be using any bio-chemical weapons to achieve it. "That or a N[[superscript:2]] mine," replies Hyuga -- at which point the JSSDF drops an N[[superscript:2]] mine on top of the Geofront, which blows away the protective dome. The military captures Unit-01, and when they discover Unit-02 on the bottom of the Geofront lake, they decide to bomb that EVA with depth charges. Asuka finally regains consciousness inside the EVA (much to her surprise), but the JSSDF's bombing sends her into a panic; she declares in a mantra that she doesn't want to die. As she does this, another voice in the entry plug starts softy whispering to her, telling her that she will survive and it will help her and protect her, and Asuka recognizes the voice as her mother's. Making mental contact her mother's soul, Asuka realizes that she had been inside the EVA, watching over her all along. Reunited with her mother, Asuka synchronizes with Unit-02 and rises from the lake, then annihilates a heavy portion of the JSSDF ranks, who cannot get through Unit-02's AT Field. After desperately trying to hammer the EVA with everything they got, but to absolutely no effect, the soldiers instead focus on Unit-02's power cable and manage to cut it, but Asuka refuses to let a little thing like a lack of power to the EVA stop her now.

Asuka, engaged with the MP [=EVAs=] in a bloody fight, wonders where Shinji is. Shinji, who hears her over the radio, has arrived at the EVA cage; the JSSDF has covered Unit-01 in Bakelite, which prevents him from getting inside. In Terminal Dogma, Gendo and Rei reach Lilith's chamber, but they are confronted by Ritsuko, who used the confusion of the invasion to sneak away in safety. She tells Gendo how she rigged the MAGI to trigger the base's self-destruct mechanism, considering it her ultimate revenge against him. But when she tries to trigger the self-destruct and nothing happens, she looks at her remote: Caspar has rejected the command. "Mother, how could you choose your lover instead of me?!" Risuko asks in disbelief...right before Gendo points a gun at her. He delivers some last words to her ("Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, I truly..."; the rest of his sentence is muted). Ritsuko considers his words for a brief moment, before she, with tears swelling up in her eyes, bitterly calls him a liar. Gendo shoots Ritsuko; as she falls into the pool of LCL, she sees a ghostly Rei.

Asuka, engaged with the MP [=EVAs=] in a bloody fight, wonders where Shinji is. Shinji, who hears her over the radio, has arrived at the EVA cage; the JSSDF has covered Unit-01 in Bakelite, which prevents him from getting inside. In Terminal Dogma, Gendo and Rei reach Lilith's chamber, but they are confronted by Ritsuko, who used the confusion of the invasion to sneak away in safety. She tells Gendo how she rigged the MAGI to trigger the base's self-destruct mechanism, considering it her ultimate revenge against him. But when she tries to trigger the self-destruct and nothing happens, she looks at her remote: Caspar has rejected the command. "Mother, how could you choose your lover instead of me?!" Risuko asks in disbelief...right before Gendo points a gun at her. He delivers some last words to her ("Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, I truly..."; the rest of his sentence is muted), to which a bitter Ritsuko calls him a liar. Gendo shoots Ritsuko; as she falls into the pool of LCL, she sees a ghostly Rei.

* BattleDiscretionShot: Throughout the episode, there are several fights that the audience only get to see brief bits and pieces of. Two notable instances are the JSSDF's attempted assault on Central Dogma, of which only the beginning, a brief scene of the fighting, and the aftermath is shown ([[PlotArmor with no explanation as to how Hyuga, Aboa, Maya, and Fuyutsuki apparently was the only ones managing to pull through]]), and another violent run-in between Misato and Shinji had with JSSDF on the way to the EVA cage, but this one is only implied to have happened by the fact that they are taking cover behind Misato's car which is both crashed and riddled with several bullet holes.

* PlotArmor: Hyuga, Aboa, Maya, and Fuyutsuki survive the attack on Central Dogma. This example stands out because every other member of the Central Dogma personnel, all of them unnamed {{Red Shirt}}s, appear to have perished in the attack (judging from the establishing shots), and we don't see how the survivors managed to pull through.