ErgoProxy wrote:Shit4chanSays The Internet wisdom tells that there is one person that every single Japanese person would call his or her Father and this is The Emperor Himself. The National Father of Japan, to be specific. Some even compare Him to the prophet Muhammad in the sense of respect and reverence He is expected to be shown.
So my interpretation of what Kaworu wants to express in 2.0 is that he's totally obedient to Gendo, out of his own free will, and up to the point he's ready to offer his life on Gendo's demand. And apparently he's okay with that. What he's not okay with in 3.0 though, and why he belittles Gendo to the rank of merely some ordinary king, is playing his own plans against him, which turns them into the worst nightmare he could think of and beyond. (Perhaps Shinji matters, too; I hope for that.)
Father and King? That sounds awfully familiar, especially considering how heavily Neon Genesis drew from Christian lore. One of the first major story arcs in the Christian Bible is God flooding the Earth in an attempt to reset it after Humanity has become the very incarnation of sin. However, when humanity was first created, they were completely obedient to God, only turning from his guidance when Eve was manipulated (technically told the truth) by Satan in the form of a serpent. Her and Adam both ate the of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and since they had already been given eternal life (granted when eating from the Tree of Life), they became as powerful as God himself. In an attempt to keep them from overthrowing him, God revoked their eternal life, and exiled Humanity from the Garden of Eden forever, so that no other human may eat of the Fruit of Life.
Over time, Humanity's knowledge corrupted them, and they became sinful, seeing God as more of a pesky overseer than an all-powerful creator, which parallels Kaworu's coming to understand that Gendo's goals are selfish. In an attempt to reset the world, and rid it of original sin, God had the most holy man, Noah, along with his family, build and board an enormous wooden Ark, and fill it with two of every other species, which parallels Gendo and Fuyutsuki setting up Third Impact by subtly trying to get Rei and Shinji closer to one another.
I believe that Kaworu's death represents the flood itself, as he's very clearly trying to go against Gendo. Perhaps Shinji represents Noah, as he was "safe" inside Unit 01 for 14 years while chaos and a true Third Impact took place outside, Unit 01 was his Ark.
This is probably looking too far into things, but the passengers of the Biblical Ark were on board for 40 days and 40 nights, and 40 sounds similar to 14, which COULD be a deeper connection, but is very likely just a coincidence.