31th October 2020
Here's a short summary of the fourth's episode's psychological significance.
Shinji is so afraid of the destructive potential of his soul that he runs away from home, lest he hurt anyone. After being forcibly brought back to the NERV facility, he accepts the burden of piloting the Eva, but as he doesn't do it voluntarily, Misato is not satisfied with him and Shinji is dismissed from NERV. After Tojo teaches Shinji that hurting other people is sometimes necessary and okay, he voluntarily decides to return to his duty.
The clear weather has ended; it's raining in Tokyo-3. Misato wakes up among a complete mess. Shinji seems to have been skipping school after the fight with the last Angel. Unit 01 has been repaired.
The cross is ready for Shinji to bear it again. It was easier to repair the Eva's armour than Shinji's psyche.
Shinji's gone. His room is empty, but he's left a note to Misato Katsuragi. She's not surprised, as she anticipated his escape. Kensuke and Tojo come with a visit, but Misato lies to them that Shinji is at the NERV facility. They are much more confident and normal than Shinji, although Tojo behaves a bit stiff – like a soldier.
After all, being the highest military commander of NERV, Misato is like a double hero for them – a perfect woman and a perfect male hero. She is very imperfect, but she is also a symbol of some kind of perfection.
Misato is furious at Shinji for abandoning the cause. Shinji, having run away from his duty, travels almost aimlessly on the train. He is constantly listening to the same song. He ignores everyone around and ends up alone.
Running away from his meaning, the individual is stuck at the repetition of the same patterns. There's no progress. Being scared of his own chaotic nature, the individual condemns himself for loneliness.
Shinji knows he has to go back, but decides to go to a cinema instead. The movie sucks, there's almost no-one there, except a young couple and some shady characters.
That's the choice of impulsive pleasures instead of responsibilities.
Shinji is starving for human connection and intimacy.
But he's so scared of hurting and being hurt, that he choses solitude.
A new morning comes, the weather is clear. Shinji experiences such a strong remorse that he just can't bear it and runs with his ears covered. Misato is still waiting for him, but for some reason she's not looking for Shinji. Shinji escapes even further, but he's not happy even among the most beautiful surroundings. He is still very close to Tokyo.
The individual won't find peace when running away from their duties.
Rei is being scanned in a med-scanner. Misato says that Shinji is so young that it seems cruel to make him bear the burden of mankind's destiny, but they have no choice but to entrust the Evas to kids. Mitsuko thinks that Shinji might never come back and that might be for the better.
Rei is an example of someone who bears their burden with dignity. It's cruel to make the individual responsible for the fate of the world, but that's how the universe works.
Mitsuko narrates what happened after the battle. She spoke with Shinji about him disobeying her orders. Shinji stared blankly and said 'yes' to everything.
Mitsuko seems to represent an integrated, functional capacity for violence here. She tells Shinji that he cannot use the chaos within at random, it must be controlled to some extent.
Shinji doesn't care about the fact that he disobeyed her. He thinks that winning is enough. He says he's fine with just doing what other people tell him to do.
The individual must discover their capability for dissent in order to become a functional member of the society. He/ she must take on the world voluntarily and not because someone tells them to do so.
Misato explodes. She knows that the Eva will kill an overly agreeable person.
Misato knows that the individual must be somewhat disagreeable in order to be able to control their shadow. Shinji shows a great deal of nihilism and cynicism. He seems to be saying: it's my life and I can waste it anyway I wish. If at the moment you're forcing me to bear the burden of existence, I will, but I won't let that duty really transform me.
Later Misato says, if life is only suffering, maybe it's better to run away from it. That's better than being hurt.
Kensuke pretends to be a soldier, a hero. He's not scared of the apocalypse, he's solely focused on his fantasies. Suddenly Shinji appears and Kensuke calls him. We see the interior of a tent, there's a lot of military stuff inside.
The two boys have a completely different attitude to being a hero. Shinji is really a hero against his will and it's a terrible burden for him. Kensuke is naive and only fantasizes about violence and killing.
Kensuke tells Shinji that thanks to his actions and the violence of the Eva many lives were saved. Shinji doesn't understand that yet. Thanks to the catastrophe, the ecosystem is returning to its normal state.
The individual is trying to learn that his shadow is not purely evil. The coming of the Angels has curbed technological activity of mankind and nature restores itself – the same thing happened during the COVID crisis.
Kensuke envys Shinji – he also wants to be an alpha-male and have a beautiful woman. He doesn't have a mother,
Kensuke is a bit like a lost boy from Peter Pan. At this moment they both are at the pleasure island – pretending to be great and not taking care of their responsibilities – Kensuke says that this camp is just for fun. Shinji also learns that he doesn't have to have a mother in order to be a happy person.
Misty morning. NERV agents take Shinji back to Tokyo.
The individual is reminded of his burden by external circumstances.
Kensuke takes a scolding from Tojo for not defending Shinji. He says that only an idiot fights when he knows he can't win.
Kensuke represents a person that rejects responsibilities for pleasure, because they know they cannot win in life. That's the opposite of the heroic decision of the individual.
Shinji is in the NERV prison. Misato asks Shinji, whether he's ready to take responsibility. She say's she won't force him to, but if he doesn't do it, other people will have to take over.
Misato symbolises Shinji's mother, who reminds Shinji of his responsibilities towards the world. Shinji says they don't have a way to force him to do it. He says that he will take the burden of existence because other people (his mother) want him to.
Misato explodes – she knows that only a voluntary decision is valueable.
Gendo speaks with Ritsuko – they will use the wounded Rei to fight the Angels. Shinji is dismissed from NERV. His friends escort him to the train station.
Toji apologizes for hitting Shinji – he knows that the Eva's violence was necessary in order to save the city. He asks Shinji to hit him, but Shinji doesn't want to do it – he is really scared of hurting people. He then hesitantly punches Toji in the face and is shocked afterwards. Toji smiles. He and Kensuke understand that Shinji suffered a lot and make excuses for him. Toji also promises to punch the people who blame Shinji. Shinji is taken my NERV to the station. At the final moment he bursts out that he's weak and cowardly and that he deserves punishment.
I think this is the most important scene in the whole episode. Toji, which symbolized the individual's non-acceptance of violence, seems to have accepted it. By punching him in the face, Shinji learns that it's sometimes necessary to hurt someone to make things right. The human capacity for violence and cruelty might be integrated and used as a tool to do Good. It doesn't have to always be something alien, Satanic and chaotic. Shinji feels humiliated that his friends accept him the way he is, although he considers himself a coward.
Misato understands Shinji in a moment of insight. Shinji was avoiding contact and intimacy with other people, because he was scared of hurting and being hurt. His only way of conveying this message was by distancing himself from everyone. By doing so, he was saying: I'm cowardly, weak, pathethic and dangerous. You won't be safe with me.
The train arrives. We see sad Shinji waiting in front of it. He suddenly hears a voice saying „Hang in there”. Misato arrives at the station. Shinji hasn't left. He and Misato look at each other for a prolonged moment. Shinji says: I'm home, to which Misato responds: Welcome home.
The final conversation with Toji and Kensuke seem to have had a huge effect on Shinji. He learned that his not evil for having inner demons and that he can make use of them in order to behave morally. Additionally, hurting other people is often necessary and will not result in others retaliating or rejecting the individual.
The fourth episode offers an important lesson for Shinji and for us. We shouldn't use our violent capacities at random, but we also should not repress them. They are within us, always were and always will be. We better make friends with them and find them an appropriate place in our lives. Sometimes you have to hurt your loved ones in order to do something good; something you have to tell your parents a hard truth, sometimes you have to smack your brother in the face to make him understand his mistakes. Being peaceful and benevolent doesn't equal to being moral and good.
Shinji made the decision to try to come to terms with his shadow. But this time, voluntarily. That's a good beginning.
- Tadaima!
- Okaerinasai!
More to come soon.
dd
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