[0:00] people think too much about the final
[0:01] scene of the End of Evangelion well that
[0:04] makes it sound like I think people
[0:05] shouldn't care about it this is one of
[0:07] my favorite scenes in any movie ever and
[0:09] it deserves all the attention and
[0:11] speculation that it gets however I think
[0:13] a lot of people maybe get too deep into
[0:15] the speculation of what is literally
[0:17] happening here or what the characters
[0:19] are exactly thinking and they failed to
[0:21] grasp the more General thematic purpose
[0:23] of it because it wasn't stated directly
[0:25] in words I think a lot of what makes
[0:27] this final scene valuable to me can be
[0:29] drawn simp from how it feels to watch it
[0:31] not even needing to question what's
[0:33] going on symbolism what Shinji is
[0:35] thinking when he chokes Asuka or why she
[0:37] says disgusting the finale is placed
[0:40] right after a very uplifting and hopeful
[0:42] sequence the orchestral score Soares as
[0:44] Shinji appears to come to understand his
[0:46] tendency for escapism and as he hears
[0:49] the final words from Ray cowo and his
[0:51] mother ultimately resolves to reject
[0:53] instrumentality return to the real world
[0:55] and make more real connections with
[0:57] other people on top of the score heavy
[0:59] Reverb is placed on many of the voices
[1:01] delivering sometimes esoteric yet
[1:03] ultimately uplifting
[1:05] [Music]
[1:13] [Music]
[1:22] statements and Visually the sequence is
[1:25] filled with lots of bright imagery or
[1:27] shots of light against the darkness like
[1:29] the Stars against the background of
[1:31] space or the glowing crosses Rising
[1:33] above a destroyed world with light now
[1:35] breaking through the clouds all of these
[1:37] sensory elements combined to deliver a
[1:39] dreamlike feel Heavenly even without
[1:41] thinking about the narrative the visuals
[1:43] the music the dialogue wash over the
[1:45] viewer like a blanket of pure optimism
[1:47] in the face of the world's destruction
[1:49] it's appropriate as this scene takes
[1:51] place in the goo the divisive barriers
[1:54] between Souls have been broken down and
[1:55] everyone exists in a state of blissful
[1:57] Harmony it is in this state that Shinji
[1:59] is is able to realize that he had made
[2:02] positive connections even friendships
[2:04] with other people and he's able to
[2:05] decide that he wants to try continuing
[2:07] to overcome the barriers between people
[2:10] and make more real Connections in the
[2:12] moment it feels like a powerful decision
[2:14] to take the harder path on which he has
[2:15] already been hurt many times but also
[2:17] the one that's more mature and rewarding
[2:19] the feeling is one of ascending above
[2:21] everything beyond the destruction past
[2:23] previous conflicts and hardships
[2:25] achieved through the simple will to get
[2:27] better it's beautiful the music Fades
[2:29] out Shinji says goodbye to his mother
[2:31] and the Evangelion floats away into the
[2:33] vastness of space we get the sense that
[2:35] it could have ended there but it can't
[2:38] there's one more
[2:40] [Music]
[2:46] final we are immediately greeted with
[2:49] shots of a devastated Wasteland the sky
[2:51] is dark the land is ravaged and the
[2:53] water is the color of blood there is no
[2:55] music no Heavenly orchestral score just
[2:57] the red waves crashing against the beach
[2:59] the immediate feeling is one of ju
[3:01] opposition to the previous sequence the
[3:03] world outside instrumentality is not
[3:05] nearly as wonderful we have been brought
[3:07] back down to earth and it feels harsh
[3:09] and unforgiving the next two shots
[3:11] expand on this we first see Shinji and
[3:13] Asuka laying next to each other on the
[3:15] beach from high above the composition
[3:17] emphasizes that the two characters are
[3:19] isolated there's nothing and no one else
[3:21] around them from farther away they
[3:22] appear close together but the next shot
[3:24] isolates them from each other putting
[3:26] their arms on opposite sides of the
[3:27] screen the barriers between Souls have
[3:29] returned they are alone on this beach
[3:31] with only each other and even then they
[3:33] feel so far apart again these two shots
[3:36] and shinji's following actions serve as
[3:38] a contrast to the anywhere can be
[3:40] paradise sequence it reminds us what it
[3:42] means to leave instrumentality being put
[3:44] back into a world where people don't
[3:46] immediately understand and love each
[3:47] other this is highlighted by the imagery
[3:49] and the audio it puts us into an
[3:51] experiential State fundamentally
[3:53] different from the one in which Shinji
[3:54] made the decision to heal grow and
[3:56] Conquer hardship it forces us to think
[3:58] that maybe that decision only could have
[4:00] been reached in that state of bliss
[4:03] because even if it will all be okay as
[4:04] long as we have the Sun the Moon and the
[4:06] Earth Shinji chose to destroy the world
[4:08] as we know it and now it looks like this
[4:10] even if anywhere can be paradise he now
[4:12] has to share it with the person most
[4:13] Central to his self-hatred even if it's
[4:16] possible to make real connections with
[4:18] other people he has to do it with the
[4:19] embodiment of his social failure outside
[4:21] of instrumentality he doesn't have the
[4:24] strength to grow at least not right now
[4:26] in fact he's in a mental state much more
[4:27] selfish and destructive than he was at
[4:29] the start of the movie of course that's
[4:31] not to say that it's impossible for him
[4:33] to grow or that the previous sequence's
[4:34] pep talk was wrong but this is how the
[4:36] movie chooses to end the final scene of
[4:38] the End of Evangelion is a challenge to
[4:41] its own optimism the choices of imagery
[4:43] audio and Direction make us immediately
[4:45] feel that growth is not as simple as a
[4:47] bunch of beautiful phrases stated over
[4:49] pretty music and ethereal visuals and
[4:51] they delivered that message much more
[4:53] effectively than any possible internal
[4:55] monologue or dialogue explanation from
[4:57] the characters it more subtly prompts us
[4:59] to question how easy is it really and
[5:01] puts us more into the director's heads
[5:03] space dealing with how difficult it is
[5:05] to decide to heal from Rock Bottom to
[5:06] stick with it to stay consistent with
[5:08] your personal growth to not stagnate or
[5:10] regress aelion gives us one of the most
[5:13] beautiful uplifting sequences in all of
[5:15] fiction and immediately follows it up
[5:16] with shinji's crushing regression into
[5:18] the state where he decided everyone
[5:20] should die because in our lowest moments
[5:22] we can still logically know that there
[5:24] is hope that there is a way out that
[5:26] there is potential for good as long as
[5:27] we keep living but even then it still
[5:30] feels like
[5:35] this I hope you enjoyed this short
[5:38] little video I've been thinking of it as
[5:40] kind of like a companion piece to the
[5:42] aelian G Leon video I made a couple
[5:44] years ago and I was able to finally put
[5:46] it into words after getting the chance
[5:48] to see end of Eva in the theater back in
[5:50] March which was really cool if you have
[5:52] any thoughts leave a comment I would
[5:54] love to hear it remember to go outside
[5:56] and have a good rest of your day
[6:00] [Music]
[6:06] the composition emphasizes oh hello Cat
[6:12] Cat come on