Episode 23: In episode 21, I introduced a question concerning just how many Rei's there have been. I'll go into more detail on the whole thing here. My my counting, here's how many Rei's there have been:
Rei #1: The little girl seen in flashbacks in episode 21. It would seem that she was strangled, meaning that the Rei in episode 1 is at least the second Rei.
Rei #2: The Rei we see in episodes 1 through (possibly) 19. This is where things get confusing, to me anyway. It would seem that Rei #2 dies making the charge with the N2 mine in episode 19 (I'm always fuzzy on anything involving numbers, so please corect me if I've got the wrong one). I find it hard to imagine how she could survive such an exploson if she didn't survive this one (though that can be argues away, and I'll show how it a bit). Also, her dazed state when she "wakes up" is very similar to this one. If I'm right, then the Rei of the next few episodes is the third.
Rei #3: The Rei who destroyed herself in episode 23. Obviously, she is replaces, and simply counting would make that Rei number four.
Rei #4: The Rei from the second half of this episode on. Yet, she calls herself "the third one". What happened? Where did one of the Reis go? Did they just loose count?
There are a few way that this nit could be shot down: First is the possibility that Young Rei simply didn't die and the Rei at the begining of the series is actually Rei number one. But that seems unlikely, seeing that her body went limp (not to mention mommy dearest's reaction afterwards). The second possibility is that Rei is actually calling herself the third "replacement" Rei rather than the third Rei in general, meaning that the "first" is actually Rei #2. Obviously, that's a very convoluted way of looking at things, so I'm not sure I buy it. The third possibility is that Rei #2 really did survive the N2 mine and didn't die until this episode. One could argue that the explosion here is different from the N2 explosion becasue it came from without rather than within and get away with it. Also, it would seem to jive with the instrumentality sequences, in which Rei speaks with two other Reis: one a child (Rei #1) and one in a plug suit (the Rei previously killed in action). Of course, the problem with THAT is I don't see how dead minds could be a part of the instrumentality process, but that's soemthing else entierly.
Wow, Rei sure busts up that arm and right eye a lot, doesn't she?
Episode 24:
Okay, they try to pin Kaoru's appearence on Seele, but how did they get their hands on an angel? Can they control them? That seems unlikely, but why would an angel cooperate?
I'm not even brave enough to ask why no one caught on to the fact that it's Lilith rather than Adam in Terminal Dogma.
Supposedly Kaoru's AT Field blocks out all of the sensors, yet the folks in the command center still manage to get some information. True, they meniton a new AT Field overpowering Kaoru's, but why doesn't THAT one simply block them out instead?
How the heck did Rei get into Terminal Dogma?
I thought that the Kaoru storyline could have lasted a bit longer than it did as one episode wasn't really enough time to build his character up and also his relationship to Shinji.
I am also curious as to why Shinji feels so bad about killing Kaoru who he barely knows at all,and not as bad about the fates of Asuka and Ritsuko who he has been working with for the best
several months.