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Episode 4: Hedgehog's Dilemma
Well, the title says it all. Another great episode focused on characterization and internal struggle, rather than a battle with the Angels. Want to know what happened? Then just read on. Misato wakes up in the morning and is worried because Shinji has been skipping school for the last five days. When she goes to see him in his room all she finds are his ID card and note explaining he has run away. As Misato sits down for breakfast the doorbell rings and she meets Kensuke and Toji who have come to check on Shinji. They are instantly attracted to Misato and she recognizes them as the boys who got into the Entry Plug of Unit 01. The scene then cuts to Shinji who is sitting on a train listening to music and staring at the ground. HE gets out at the end of the train ride and wanders a town and then the countryside. Meanwhile, Ritsukp and Misato discuss the pressure being placed on a 14 year old boy to pilot EVA. Misato blames herself partially for Shinji running away and begins to remember what she said to him after his fight with the 4th Angel. During the battle, she had ordered him to cease fighting and instead he used his progressive knife to stab the 4th Angel's core. After the battle she scolded Shinji for disobeying orders and all he could say was "yes". Back in the countryside, Kensuke is playing a mock war game by himself when he notices Shinji walking in a nearby field. The two meet up and Kensuke tells Shinji that he envies him because he gets to pilot EVA and live with Misato. He tells Shinji "I'm the same as you" because neither of tem have mothers: Kensuke lives alone in a tent in the countryside. Shinji sleeps over with Kensuke and the next morning they wake up to find themselves surrounded by NERV intelligence agents. They take Shinji as Kensuke watches, a fact, which angers Toji when Kensuke explains what happened. Misato visits Shinji in his cell and tells him he should be piloting EVA because he wants to. Shinji says he will pilot EVA because he wants to make sure Rei doesn't have to go through that pain. This angers Misato and she says she should just leave tokyo-3 if he doesn't like his life here. Later, there is a seemingly minor conversation between Gendo and Ritsuko, but upon closer inspection one can see it is very important. Gendo tells Ritsuko to reconfigure 01 for Rei but Ritsuko is a bit surprised considering the results of the Rei and Unit 00 (We are not told what happened). She also says that Marduk hasn't found the fourth child yet (This means we have not only the "second child" to look forward to, but possibly a "fourth child" as well). Meanwhile, Shinji is at the train station where he is getting ready to leave Tokyo. Kensuke and Toji show up to say bye to him and Toji apologizes for punching him at school. To make things square, Toji has Shinji punch him really hard. They say they don't blame Shinji for leaving because they realize he was going through a lot of pain by piloting the EVA. Shinji tells them he isn't strong instead he is just a weak, scared sissy. As the train arrives, Misato rushes over to the train station to stop Shinji from leaving. But when she arrives, the train has left and she believes Shinji is gone. When she looks back she sees Shinji hasn't boarded the train and he says, "I'm home". This episode really brought to light the character of Shinji and helped to develop him as well. It was nice seeing how Kensuke and Toji can relate to his life and their understanding of the sufferring he endures. There will undoubtedly be some major developments, with Marduk looking for more EVA pilots and with the new EVAs I presume would be created. This episode really showed the realism permeating the characters: consistent with his own lack of confidence, Shinji did run away and he did begin to beat himself up emotionally. When he returns, its not because of any guilt, but because he really feels at home. If this hadn't been emphasized, it would be hard to accept the fact that this lost and troubled boy voluntarily ran back into a place that hurt him.