Shikinami: Did we just get Ocean's Twelved?

[RLLRRR]

One of my favorite parts of Ocean's Eleven is, if you really paid attention, you could figure out what the crew was doing the entire time. On the contrary, I hate that in Ocean's Twelve they perform a heist only to get caught, but it was diversion! You couldn't figure it out even if you were playing the game perfectly.

I'm wracking my brain thinking about 2.0 and 3.0 and possible evidence that Asuka was a clone, and I'm coming up short. Sure, her interactions with the puppet in her bedroom make her seem different than Soryu, but at no point did I ever consider she was given the Rei-treatment.

Am I missing something? Or was this seemingly major plot-point materialized in 3.0+1.0 and nowhere else?

[FreakyFilmFan4ever]

Shikinami seems to recognize the Ayanami “Series” in a way that isn’t quite as “othering” as one might expect. I always thought that her remark on that felt under-pronounced, but seeing as how Asuka is part of a series of clones herself, her understated remark on the Ayanami series makes a bit more sense now.

[LoveYui]

Rei being a "special" soul inside a clone body served the narrative in NGE and arguably NTE. Rei having Lilith's soul and being Yui's physical clone was a big part of her character due to her existencial questioning and also the overall NGE thematic of "who / what am i". It also impacted other characters such as Gendo (clone of his wife, played a part in NTE only, at the dinner together), Shinji (clone of his mother, played a part in both), Naoko / Ritsuko (clone of romantic rival, played a part in NGE only) in numerous ways. It was also a plot device, as Lilith's soul she can guide Instrumentality and by having numerous souless clones those were used for the dummy plug system.

From the small spoiler summary I've read, this isn't the case with Asuka Shikinami and if the "nami" is an indicative of a clone series, this isn't the case with Mari Makinami either. So the "real" question here is, what was the point of Asuka (and Mari (?)) being a clone? What did it brought the narrative of Evangelion as a whole for the character and the story as well as the narrative and story of NTE in particular? To those that have read the script entirely, which is it? Does it have a point or is it gratuitous?

[Heaven Piercing Man]

My guess is that by making her a clone, this makes her a "raised for battle" living weapon in the sense that she never had a real family until she met Shinji and Misato, and no matter what happened later her fondest experiences have to come from that time.

[Xenoblade]

From the small spoiler summary I've read, this isn't the case with Asuka Shikinami and if the "nami" is an indicative of a clone series, this isn't the case with Mari Makinami either. So the "real" question here is, what was the point of Asuka (and Mari (?)) being a clone? What did it brought the narrative of Evangelion as a whole for the character and the story as well as the narrative and story of NTE in particular?

In terms of Mari sharing the -nami prefix...it might imply she's a clone. It may just be Anno telling us they're all fake, go outside, etc. It's a tad on-the-nose.

Am I missing something? Or was this seemingly major plot-point materialized in 3.0+1.0 and nowhere else?

I really don't see anything in 2.0 in particular that could have made this obvious in 2009...other than that she plays with/likes dolls, in such contrast to Soryu. I re-watched it recently and I'm drawing a blank.

That said:

-This is a stretch and a half, but in the elevator scene with Rei and Asuka in 2.0, when Asuka calls Rei a doll, Rei denies it. Nothing out of the ordinary, but when Asuka tries to slap her she says something to the effect of "You are a doll! Know something about yourself!" Kind of a pot, meet kettle situation now I guess.

-You also see Asuka with plastic bandages on multiple fingers from trying to cook for Shinji earlier in the film. Rei knows all about bandages...but then again so did EoE Asuka so I don't think this is foreshadowing.

[Cookie H Wilson]

My guess is that by making her a clone, this makes her a "raised for battle" living weapon in the sense that she never had a real family until she met Shinji and Misato, and no matter what happened later her fondest experiences have to come from that time.

This is a great point!

[Mr. Tines]

You also see Asuka with plastic bandages on multiple fingers from trying to cook for Shinji earlier in the film. Rei knows all about bandages...but then again so did EoE Asuka so I don't think this is foreshadowing.

The "anime girl so clumsy in kitchen" gag is so ancient that it's mostly been retired these days; I'd not look at wounds gathered in the course of cooking any more deeply than that.

[duppertip]

I will first address where it is actually hinted at and then how exactly it matters. All info for 3+1 is based on leaks, so please take with grain of salt.

1) The aforementioned elevator scene looks VERY differently when you have that knowledge in mind. It's not just Rei becoming humanized and becoming an individual, but she simply opposes her complicit role as a doll (pilot, Yui substitute for Gendo, another clone or meta-wise being a slave to her role as "Rei"). It is also Asuka that actually from the start behaves like a doll and "Asuka" we would expect: tsundere pilot of EVA02, in all senses - literal, plot, narrative, meta, she was a doll. Her confronting Rei in the elevator followed a "proper" Evangelion script where she mechanically did what was expected to her like a doll - and confronted over that by Rei out of all people
2) The "kitchen competition" in itself is interesting to look at too in this regard. Asuka did it for her own sake, mechanically copying Rei to get more affection, recognition and care from Shinji while Rei did it all for Shinji's sake (reuniting him with Gendo).
3) Another scene was pre-Bardiel scene. This is the time Asuka actually did her first humanizing gesture (helped Shinji and Rei... or tried to) and then said "I see. I actually can smile." It is something often overlooked because of the Bardiel incident itself, but it really makes sense if you think about Asuka being a doll that actually learnt to act a bit more human (after all, she piloted EVA03 for Shinji's and Rei's sake).
3.5) Meta-wise, the initial draft for her Bardiel scene... it makes really MUCH more sense if you think of Asuka as of doll. Her face being torn off and shown to herself... that would be very shocking, but also a brilliant scene in this regard.
4) Her "recovery" looked too good to be true. Lets be honest about it, if anyone dared to think about it they would compare it to the Rei's "recovery" after Armisael.
5) 3.0 led us heavily astray with the angelic nature of her hidden powers, hence why most assumed that she called humans Lilins either because of that or because of being Child of Fate. However, there were also hints to it: she was literally treated as disposable in space sequence and WILLE carried more about EVA02 even. If she is just a clone, she is disposable for WILLE, hence she took the most risky tasks. That alone, however, barely hints at it.

Where does it all matter however is that it her being a clone made a great twise and suddenly turns narrative around. "Being a good adult" doesn't mean being stoic or running away from problems. Misato did that and became Gendo as a result. Asuka did that and... well, instead of being graphically violated by MP EVAs she simply was reduced to being a doll, worse in many regards than Rei was, left alone and scared, dreaming for someone to rescue her, for a magical prince.

Now, you can say that she dreamt of Shinji as of magic pixie boy falling on her head from the sky. And I mean, in 3.0 he kinda did save her that way, in space

However, her issue was not just that: she rejected humanity in herself. She dehumanized herself, quite intentionally, as a way of protecting herself from the world and making a cocoon around herself, trying to manage things by herself. But Asuka is Asuka, she is destined to be a jobber as it is written in Dead Sea Scrolls
And that's why she sees Kensuke in her dream, in the doll. Because, well, Shinji was only Asuka's way of escapism in 3.0, he wasn't a valid love interest (she has vague memories of him after 14 years and obviously they aren't that strongly romantic) but rather a symbol of escapism, an idol that could validate her in a way and who in reality of course didn't live up to expectations. While Kensuke, despite being mocked by some, is actually a person who was close to Asuka all this time and on whom she relied, but didn't admit it.

Why she didn't admit? Because her being inhuman, a doll, is meta and narration - she is an object of worship to many fans, she is a status, she is a role (I mean, here and in other threads how many compared her to NGE and told they expected her to play role and be Soryu), she is clone (again, ironically quite meta), she positions herself above "Lilin" (mere mortals and by extension goddess to some otakus). However truth is that she is also a person like everyone and she shouldn't have run away from others. Her story wasn't fleshed out, but it would coming back to Kensuke and rekindling their relationship where she could acknowledge how he matters to her and face him not as a child of whom he took care but as adult able to answer him on even ground.

Honestly, this is the best twist in whole Rebuild. It doesn't matter to plot really, but narratively and meta-wise it is unimaginably satisfying take on Asuka's character that actually cares about her and not her "role". Same thing was a concern for Rei's role ("silent mysterious girl"), but we do overlook that Rei II in 2.0 actually became a real person and grew as a character. And Rei Q as well did it. And, in the end, even Asuka does admit that her being a doll and living in a shell of her role is not a good idea. Her shot at EoE beach is her being stuck in this role despite everything and that it is time to leave it.

To address some of OP's concerns - I think that we were explicitly not foreshadowed that for it to be a such a powerful twist. Aside from mentioned examples, it was expected that we would look at Shikinami playing role of "Asuka". There are many things that make sense if you consider her a clone, but it was expected for us to not expect it and to reflect on it after the final. And I like this idea a lot

[Blockio]

I agree with the general sentiment in duppertip's post; once we actually get to see Shin, a lot of scenes from the first three movies will probably appear in a new light that is hinting at her being a series, butnone of us thought of it, because we were still too stuck thinking in NGE terms
"We all know Asuka is not a clone series, don't be silly!" I was confident that she wasn't a "normal" lilin, but her being a series would have never crossed my mind, for that exact reason.

[Xenoblade]

However, her issue was not just that: she rejected humanity in herself. She dehumanized herself, quite intentionally, as a way of protecting herself from the world and making a cocoon around herself, trying to manage things by herself. But Asuka is Asuka, she is destined to be a jobber as it is written in Dead Sea Scrolls
And that's why she sees Kensuke in her dream, in the doll. Because, well, Shinji was only Asuka's way of escapism in 3.0, he wasn't a valid love interest (she has vague memories of him after 14 years and obviously they aren't that strongly romantic) but rather a symbol of escapism, an idol that could validate her in a way and who in reality of course didn't live up to expectations.

I think it's a stretch to position Shinji as escapism for Asuka in 3.0. She just moved on, as she tells Shinji and the audience. Shinji's sudden reappearance can...hurt and heal at the same time.

Lessons learnt by Shikinami aren't the main focus of the rebuilds, and she's no longer a deuteragonist, unfortunately. Shinji is Anno, Shinji is the protagonist, and Shinji seeks comfort with Mari in the real world at the end.

Now in the NTE, Asuka and Rei are both made "dolls" to double the effect behind Shinji embracing reality. Asuka (alone), Rei and Kaworu all take the train back to Eva (or at least the opposite direction, away from Anno's hometown), Shinji and Mari do not. It's not subtle.

Shinji gives full validation to Asuka's feelings back then. It'll be interesting to see the English localization given, with the context-sensitive nature of Japanese an important factor. There are a couple ways one could probably go with that line when localizing to English.

The last you see of Kensuke is a flashback to him giving her a head pat. Kensuke seems like a mentor to Shikinami the way Kaji could never be due to Soryu's...acting out. It's healthy but...nobody in the film seems to love Kensuke. Indeed, that's not the point.

[RLLRRR]

To address some of OP's concerns - I think that we were explicitly not foreshadowed that for it to be a such a powerful twist. Aside from mentioned examples, it was expected that we would look at Shikinami playing role of "Asuka". There are many things that make sense if you consider her a clone, but it was expected for us to not expect it and to reflect on it after the final. And I like this idea a lot

See, here's where I'm disagreeing: I think Anno was going for a "No, I am your father."-level twist, but ended up with a "You are a Palpatine"-level twist.

All of your evidence is a stretch, in my opinion. You could easily explain each occurrence without her being a clone:

1. The elevator is just a hollow recreation of NGE, and the shortening and change is for meta-level shock. "OH! LOOK AT HOW DIFFERENT THE REBUILD ARE!"
2. Asuka simply copied Rei's actions to win Shinji's affections because Rei had known Shinji longer: work smarter, not harder.
3. Pre-Bardiel was just more meta-textual nods to how different Shikinami was. If she were a clone, why would she bother opening up to Misato? If Rei knew she could be replaced, surely Asuka would.
- 3.5 Initial draft of Bardiel scene is very different and horrifying, but I see it as more body horror and less evidence of doll-like status. It's like the MPE's devouring her and her writhing in the entry plug: it's disturbing, but I don't think it's meant to be any more than that.
4. I'll give you that on the recovery, but if she's just Asuka II, why does she have the Angel in her eye? Rei III didn't carry anything over when she was "reborn".
5. She's got a literal Angel in her head, I imagine she's as much disposable as she is a liability.

It all feels super contrived, just to give Asuka something to do.

[Settie]

It all feels super contrived.

This is pretty much where i stand, a lot of the examples given in the thread are more easily explained away by other elements within the story. Some examples that don't need a clone twist to be explained.
She knows about the Ayanami series? Nervs secrets aren't secret anymore.
She separates herself from lillin? being a loner from the start and having an active angel infection plus not ageing will do that to ya.

It feels like a twist for twist sake.

[ChaddyManPrime]

I have so many fucking questions, and I know they'll never get answered.

Okay, who made the Shikinami series and who are they based off of? She doesn't seem to be created as an angel/human hybrid.

What the fuck happened to Soryu? We seem to know what happened to Shinji after EoE, bitch got rebooted, what happened to her though?

[Jäeger]

I have so many fucking questions, and I know they'll never get answered.

Okay, who made the Shikinami series and who are they based off of? She doesn't seem to be created as an angel/human hybrid.

What the fuck happened to Soryu? We seem to know what happened to Shinji after EoE, bitch got rebooted, what happened to her though?

No, we don't know what happened to Shinji after EOE. He lives in the wasteland with Asuka. Maybe they live a long life together, maybe they die young separated. That's all. His world is not reseted.

NGE and NTE are different continuities, and that should be clear. Different continuities, diferent rules. We Know that happens after EoE 3I.

And yeah, is obvious that there was no plan for Asuka in this continuity and we have enough info to say that Mari's existence is the the source of conflict. In this continuity there was no need for Asuka in Annos head but.....try to erase your most or second most popular character. So you get Shikinami.

[duppertip]

See, here's where I'm disagreeing: I think Anno was going for a "No, I am your father."-level twist, but ended up with a "You are a Palpatine"-level twist.

All of your evidence is a stretch, in my opinion. You could easily explain each occurrence without her being a clone:

I know it will hurt, but Shikinami wasn't nearly that vital for Rebuilds to matter with such a reveal. It serves meta and narrative purpose first and foremost, for which it is a great twist, but it was never about being "epic twist" as it doesn't matter in grand scheme of things and never did. There are many more interesting twists that were in 3.33 and in 3+1 that matter way more.

And yes, that's a stretch. I admit we have a poor idea of what kind of clone is Asuka and rely on the retelling of the movie, dialogues and assumptions. However, the same goes for the accusations against it - they assume some things we can't take for sure yet.

And well, the list was never the evidence. It could easily be explained by other things, we were guided to think that everything is normal. However, point is that like in quite a few things with Eva, we were simply led to believe things are normal which is a normal modus operandi for both NGE, EoE and NTE.

1. The elevator is just a hollow recreation of NGE, and the shortening and change is for meta-level shock. "OH! LOOK AT HOW DIFFERENT THE REBUILD ARE!"

That's not the case. Sure, the elevator and scene there were planned as an actual reference to NGE, but the scene holds on it's own for what it is worth.

The major difference here is Rei. The scene, obviously, was about showing her and that she isn't a doll and doesn't want to be one, she develops and considers herself worth like other humans; it wasn't same as NGE at all.

However, with Asuka being a doll herself, this scene actually is very ironic: it is Shikinami that tries to recreate it by playing her role of the script as "Asuka", in a quite shallow way as you point it if you look at it from her perspective. And that's where Rei stopping her and denying that she is a doll shines: she actually proves that she isn't a doll, leaving Shikinami furious, confused and not knowing what to do when her "role" is denied.

Can one deduce from it that Shikinami is a clone? Well, no, and it isn't a hard evidence. But on the other hand... didn't we always hear complaints about how superficial Shikinami is, like a doll or a parody of her own self (from NGE)? It's actually also a sign that either Anno planned for her to be a superficial doll or, cynically speaking, turned weakness of Shikinami as a character into symbolism later in. Fact is, both ways work in the end.

2. Asuka simply copied Rei's actions to win Shinji's affections because Rei had known Shinji longer: work smarter, not harder.
3. Pre-Bardiel was just more meta-textual nods to how different Shikinami was. If she were a clone, why would she bother opening up to Misato? If Rei knew she could be replaced, surely Asuka would.

However it doesn't really change the issue: Shikinami acted selfish, trying to get Shinji's affection and did it for her own sake. It's also this aspect, that Rei did it actually for Shinji's sake, that made her "give up" to Rei as she felt that this way she can do something for others and it would make her actually happy instead of pursuing her own selfish desires.

Obviously, it doesn't tell anything, it's not evidence. It's simply a fact of how Shikinami being a superficial doll fits the 2.0 scenes and it fits more than her being Soryu (the major complaint about 2.22 btw).

And well, we don't necessarily know if Asuka was aware of being replacable. She probably wasn't as she wasn't replaced yet before Bardiel incident.

- 3.5 Initial draft of Bardiel scene is very different and horrifying, but I see it as more body horror and less evidence of doll-like status. It's like the MPE's devouring her and her writhing in the entry plug: it's disturbing, but I don't think it's meant to be any more than that.

I mean, yes, it was planned to be disturbing and, frankly, probably a nod to the EoE kind of thing. However, I meant exactly the part where her own face is taken from her and she is made to look at herself. It's not simply disturbing... it actually directly makes sense if you know she is a doll - she is being mocked, shown how superficial she is to the Soryu (basically only in appearance), that there isn't much to her and then tortured and mentally harassed.

The thing is that it would be very unnatural for Evangelion though: Toji didn't have such thing, no plug depth ever caused such things and in NGE angels, despite mindrapes and such, weren't really monsters to torture anyone. Even MP EVAs hardly did that on purpose. Thus it wasn't included in my opinion.

4. I'll give you that on the recovery, but if she's just Asuka II, why does she have the Angel in her eye? Rei III didn't carry anything over when she was "reborn".

I am afraid we barely have any info on how that angel works sadly.

Speculative explanations:

1) Her soul is fused with it, so being reborn in another clone means that the angel is reborn too in this vessel. Hence Gendo's plan isn't to just capture her: it is to imprison her soul in the "real body" of Soryu, leaving Shikinami's body to die and the Angel unable to flee anymore and dying for good there.
2) Sealed Bardiel is "scooped" from corpse and reinstalled in Asuka. Ritsuko can do it.
3) She never died again after Bardiel incident but is aware of being a clone and replaceable, that she will be reborn to pilot EVA02 if needed.

As for memories: she is an "advanced" clone, so it can be called a convenience I guess. I wouldn't speculate on any specifics here as neither of us have a movie at hand to rewatch and speculate on particular scenes yet.

5. She's got a literal Angel in her head, I imagine she's as much disposable as she is a liability.

Well, Bardiel is sealed and such. Or is it Bardiel and not new Angel at all? I am not sure how was it exactly stated.
If Asuka needs to manifest "new angel" in particular, it explains a lot - Shikinami clones after Bardiel experiment go along with unawakened angels that are "bred" (or, uhm, scooped from corpse) and dormant while sealed/not manifested.

It all feels super contrived, just to give Asuka something to do.

Eh, she has her own share of things to do without clone part. The clone part actually retroactively builds meta and narrative.

She knows about the Ayanami series? Nervs secrets aren't secret anymore.

To be fair Asuka was always quite informed about some things and always kept her mouth shut about it. Or rather, a lot of information was not told to Misato and the commanding bridge. If Asuka is a clone, an advanced one too, it is natural that she is aware of it.

This said... she wouldn't be necessarily aware of it until Bardiel incident.

I think it's a stretch to position Shinji as escapism for Asuka in 3.0. She just moved on, as she tells Shinji and the audience. Shinji's sudden reappearance can...hurt and heal at the same time.

Shinji was in a role of a "prince" that should have come and saved Asuka. You know, the idealized image of a prince on white horse to save the lady.
Obviously, the real Shinji isn't like that and it's obvious. And Shikinami understands it too, but it is one of her grievances with him - the expactations he wouldn't deliver. Even in 3+1. In fact, he even pukes in front of her (because DSS choker but w/e) and that only adds injury to her after his cathatonic state.

But in her lows, we can see that she was detached from others. Isolated. Puttin herself outside of "lilins" for various reasons. And there, despite her attitude, she feels bad and alone.

It's exactly why Kensuke's doll costume scene works: in a way she actually accepts that there isn't prince to save her. Only a prince Shinji on White Eva starting apocalypse... However, during those 14 years, there was always Kensuke. He has his faults, we aren't really caring about him that much, but are told that he cared for Shikinami and she bonded with him. It wasn't necessarily love at all, perhaps he wasn't the man she wanted (like Shinji in NGE), but she did bond with him and actually it's exactly why Shinji tells Shikinami to go back to Kensuke - he took Shinji's spot in NGE/EoE but without Shinji's issues and angst. Shinji in last scenes perhaps knew EoE things and knew that for Asuka in NTE Kensuke was the person she needs to go and be honest to in her feelings. Not pursue an "ideal man" or anything, ignoring her bonds with real people.

In essence, if you think about it, it actually validates her relationship with Shinji in NGE-EoE as well as it is repeated in NTE but with another person who took Shinji's spot.

t'l;dr Kensuke is in place of Shinji and Shinji is weirdly in Kaiji's place in 3+1 from Asuka's POV and it all makes sense and actually does justice to her... and Kensuke

btw, it is actually interesting that Kensuke used to be a bit of perv and stalking kind of guy, but he matured or was confronted by Asuka over that and grew over it, which is an interesting detail... or he asks her to walk naked in house... or could it be that Asuka is doing it for him? I am actually interested in what it is in this case.

[Heaven Piercing Man]

I think people are jumping the gun on the "eyepatch Asuka is a different individual as pre-Bardiel Asuka" idea. It reminds me of sequelism

[Xenoblade]

btw, it is actually interesting that Kensuke used to be a bit of perv and stalking kind of guy, but he matured or was confronted by Asuka over that and grew over it, which is an interesting detail... or he asks her to walk naked in house... or could it be that Asuka is doing it for him? I am actually interested in what it is in this case.

In real life though, once a creep, always a creep. In the NGE timeline he takes sketchy photos of her...and while NTE Kensuke may not, it's a stretch that he somehow became the coolest, most helpful guy in the village.

As for walking around nude, it might just be a thing of hers. She knows Shinji is in the house but does it anyway and directly confronts Shinji about not complimenting her body. Kensuke doesn't compliment her either given the chance but gives her a towel and cleans Shinji's puke. That's uhhh...that raises a lot of questions.

It's pretty bold to mould a relationship out of that, but hey, I guess Shinji implies it at the very end of the film. I hope if there's supplemental material to 3.0+1.0 down the road Asuka finds someone better. It doesn't have to be her "prince", but...making Kensuke suddenly a cool dude and in some sort of bond or relationship with Asuka is out of left field, and not something we could have guessed at.

[Zusuchan]

I think Kensuke is more of a father figure/emotional support figure for Asuka than someone she's in a romantic relationship with. The "walking around naked" thing also seems to be some sort of an Asuka quality.

I disagree with the notion that once somebody's a creep, they're always a creep. Seeing as how 14 years have gone by and those years have been rather hard, I see no reason for Kensuke to not have overgrown his previous issues and character faults, especially since that's not unheard of in real life.

(In NTE, Kensuke might actually not have been a creep at all, but that doesn't change the point I made too much.)

Also-very nice post there, duppertip! It goes a bit too heavy on the interconnection thing in my opinion, but NTE is obviously rather meta and about NGE in a lot of ways, so the general feeling is absolutely truthful and the other points you made were quite good.

[Xenoblade]

I think Kensuke is more of a father figure/emotional support figure for Asuka than someone she's in a romantic relationship with. The "walking around naked" thing also seems to be some sort of an Asuka quality.

I disagree with the notion that once somebody's a creep, they're always a creep. Seeing as how 14 years have gone by and those years have been rather hard, I see no reason for Kensuke to not have overgrown his previous issues and character faults, especially since that's not unheard of in real life.

(In NTE, Kensuke might actually not have been a creep at all, but that doesn't change the point I made too much.)

I'm with you on Kensuke probably being a support figure, especially with the "curse of Eva" business going on for almost the entire film. Post-instrumentality Shikinami Asuka will land on her feet and can make her own choices from there.

Regarding Kensuke, some people do change, it's fair. From years of lurking most of us don't seem to be too hard on Shinji here and in the NGE/EoE timeline, considering he does 1-2 questionable things himself....so, fair enough.

[Konja7]

Honestly, this is the best twist in whole Rebuild. It doesn't matter to plot really, but narratively and meta-wise it is unimaginably satisfying take on Asuka's character that actually cares about her and not her "role". Same thing was a concern for Rei's role ("silent mysterious girl"), but we do overlook that Rei II in 2.0 actually became a real person and grew as a character. And Rei Q as well did it. And, in the end, even Asuka does admit that her being a doll and living in a shell of her role is not a good idea. Her shot at EoE beach is her being stuck in this role despite everything and that it is time to leave it.

Curiously, Rei II also need to move on from Shinji in 3.0+1.0

In 2.0, Rei II changed her allegiance to Shinji, but it seems she had not gained true independence yet.