Uh, no they arent really a replacement, they show the "whole picture" of what is going on.

in the movie, Lilith takes EVA01 into it self, and this is what Shinji was going through inside Lilith (apparently) and the TV series whos what happnens when he loses.

This is all theory, but the Director supports this idea.

sorry to sound bossy.....Im really sleepy

I've heard "whole picture" theories... I just don't buy 'em. Shinji ends the TV series happy with who he is, and in the films he's more depressed than he's ever been before.

I honestly don't see why they made the replacement endings. The TV ending made perfect sense to me, until I saw the films.

To further the debate on the whole picture theory, though: a friend told me that the film ending is actually Shinji's re-construction of his world, as explained in the tv ending -- ergo, he wanted to destroy everything and be left with Asuka.

Now, does anyone think that this is consistent with Shinji's past actions?

Ok...well, this is the messy point for the whole series. The problem is that the creator himself has said that there are over a 150 interpretations of the ending and they're all correct(Oy!)

The situation with the very end...Most people think that the girl is Asuka, but that's incorrect in my opinion.(Think about how Rei, Asuka, and Misato call out to him to be one with them) Shinji constructs his own perfect companion(Look at her...Asuka's Face, Wearing Rei's Bandages, with [not positive] Misato's Eyes...) In teh end, his perfect companion rejects him and his destroyed world("You sicken me"/What a horrible Feeling"/"I feel sick")

You can see why after every time I watch this, I need a good drink afterwards...

BTW - "Komm Susser Tod" is the best track of the whole Eva OST...

Ah, Komm Susser Tod... how I tortured you with that song at Otakon, Jason-kun... I must admit that I listen to that song more than is probably healthy.

I enjoied the movies, but the more I think about it the more I think that I actually liked the TV ending better. Granted, I've only seen the movies once and my opinion may change once I can see them a few more times.

"Komm Susser Tod" is one of Bach's less inspiring pieces, IMHO. I disliked it very much 20 years ago when I played it, and I'm a big, BIG Bach fan!

I'm not familiar with Bach's Kom Susser Tod. Actually, I must listen to more classical music. I'm surprised I don't own very much, as I do enjoy it. In fact, the only classical I own is Beethoven's Ninth. (You know, the one that's used in Eva episode 24.)

In any case, I didn't even know that Bach had a piece called Kom Susser Tod. The Kom Susser Tod that is being referred to here is that wonderful vocal song played during Third Impact in End of Evangelion Okay everyone, sing along... "It all returns to nothing, it just keeps tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down."

It just occurred to me that this is all getting just a tad off topic... perhaps I should create a board for the music of Eva?

Music of Eva board sounds cool!
I like the tv show ending of the series. I only saw half the movie. that replaced the tv ending.

Apparntly the story is the tv show ending was like that because he invented an ending they thoguht was too violent for television, so that one was a replacement, and no one liked it. So he made the movie, and some people say that it was even more violent then the originally planned thing. Heh heh.

I'm more inclined to go with the "whole picture therory"... as I've always understood it, episode 25/26 show what is happening inside shinji's mind, while the movies show whatis happening in the real world.

However, the truth of the matter is, its all in how you interpet it, and there is no wrong interapatation of Eva in the end.

I never liked the "whole picture theory." I like to think of them as two different alternitive possibilities. But as my pal Jason-kun pointed out, "the creator himself has said that there are over a 150 interpretations of the ending and they're all correct." Oy, indeed...

What the heck, I may as well add my take (or what I remember of it). (I'm writing a 'Virgin Guide' for the series, so I really should rewatch so I can work this out properly.)

Episodes 25 and 26, it's pretty obvious, seem to happen inside people's heads (as in, in the characters' minds, mostly Shinji). The film, meanwhile, is what's going on in the real world while all this is going down.

See, now all this talk about 'moving onto the next plane of existence' and what-have-you, I don't think necessarily concludes so literally (though I'll grant it sure starts off looking that way). Episodes 25 and 26 provide the answer in that the next stage of existence is after an affirmation, finding out who you are and believing in yourself. All the 'harvested' souls went through this - after this massive 'trial', they were returned.

Rei also brings me to another of my ideas. See, I don't think the Rei from the films is the Rei we last saw on TV. We met Rei II at the start of the series (Ritsuko's mum having killed Rei I), and also saw her get severely beat up. When we next see Rei, she seems slightly confused and concludes, 'Then I must be the third one.'

Rei III was obviously a lot more 'human' and emotional than Rei II - she even seemed unsure of her relationship to Gendô. I hold, however, that we saw only the briefest amount of her in the movies. Rei II was there, though - possibly as a result of her near-death experience (ie, she didn't die, but everyone was led to believe she did), that's why she's even less human than she was before. It is Rei II who becomes the enormous thing that tries to consume the world.