Ray wrote:Personally I have a theory that Kaworu manipulated Unit 01 during the impact proper and used it to frame Shinji with intent on manipulating him once he came back. Which had a monkey wrench thrown into it by Asuka, Mari, and Wille launching Unit 01 into space.

But that very theory both establishes Kaworu's lack of trustworthiness and suggests that Shinji is not responsible for 3I, which means he has plenty of options for a happy ending in Final.

Considering it's a bit ambiguous as to whether the stinger/next time preview at the end of 2.22 is still canon. . . I'm a little less inclined to believe that.

How is it ambiguous? Apart from pie-in-the-sky speculation by yours truly I've seen no indication anywhere that it is not 100% canon. Like, none. Zero. Zip. Nada.

So? He's the domino that started the whole thing. No Shinji causing instrumentality to save Rei, no Impact and no coagulated landscape. If your actions caused a devastating snowball effect that resulting in a lot of innocents dying, how do you think people would see you?

Keyword "if". You yourself just provided a credible scenario wherein Shinji is not the domino that started things, and that places the blame for all of it squarely on Kaworu. That rather handily shoots your whole doom and gloom scenario in the foot.

True we do see fresh water in 'Until You Come To Me". . . I'm sure there are small pockets of civilization arable throughout the world. Just like there was a small pocket of water for sea life in one aquarium. But will a small pocket of comfort really undo all the damage he's done? especially after 3.33 hammered home how there was literally no way to undo it?

We have no reason to think it's a "small pocket" vs. the status quo for everywhere outside of Hakone, Japan. You don't build and maintain the U.S. Pacific Fleet (several times over, actually) with a "small pocket" of civilization. You need a fuckin' superpower to do it, and that means millions of people, industry, arable land and fresh water, and so on and so forth.

Not just that. One Evangelion alone costs billions of dollars. Wille has two, plus upgrades and a complete arsenal. And god knows what kind of money and resources they've sunk into Wunder. It's over ten times the size of an Eva and has to be outfitted for habitation. Wille also has access to a functioning space program with equipment that's been custom fit to their Evas. There has to be significant industrial infrastructure somewhere to produce all this stuff.

Besides, if the rest of the world is as bad as the Hakone region, why bother putting up a containment field? The damage would have already been done.

Ray wrote:Considering it's a bit ambiguous as to whether the stinger/next time preview at the end of 2.22 is still canon. . . I'm a little less inclined to believe that.

The NTP is irrelevant either way.

And stinger..? Are you suggesting Unit-01's impalement by Cassius may not be canon? That's crazy.

So? He's the domino that started the whole thing. No Shinji causing instrumentality to save Rei, no Impact and no coagulated landscape. If your actions caused a devastating snowball effect that resulting in a lot of innocents dying, how do you think people would see you?

If N3I and 3I are separate events, then the only thing he started was a chain of events that may have lead to 3I. His actions are a snowball effect in that they allowed the scenario to move forward for Seele and for Gendo (which is something Kaworu would have a perspective on). Whatever this is, it most certainly involves Central Dogma, Mark.06, Lilith, and the 12th Angel (not to mention the unspoken of 11th Angel attack at some point in time), which all seem to have nothing to do with Shinji.

The only thing that may indicate Unit-01's possible involvement in 3I would be the FOIs, which is a strange mystery all on its own.

But will a small pocket of comfort really undo all the damage he's done? especially after 3.33 hammered home how there was literally no way to undo it?

If a small pocket of land can be reclaimed, then potentially all the land can be reclaimed eventually, right? It isn't about undoing, it's about rebuilding, about moving forward.

I would consider Unit-01's impalement by Cassius as cannon. Everything after the "PREVIEW" title card should probably be held loosely at best, but most likely isn't important or relevant at all.