Yui's Role in The Scenario?

[BlueBasilisk]

So far, the movies have only given us a few small glimpses at Yui and a handful of small hints at her part in Gendo's grand plan. When you start putting those pieces together, it seems like they're making a picture that's quite different from the scenario laid out in NGE. Here's what we know so far:

1.0:
*We can guess that she's probably in Eva 01 due to her complete lack of presence.

*While he's unconscious after the Sachiel fight, Shinji hears Gendo and Yui discussing names for their child. "So, have you picked out a name?" "If it's a boy, we'll name him Shinji. If it's a girl, Rei."

*Fuyutsuki and Gendo say they are following a plan for Shinji and Rei that was laid out 14 years prior.

2.0:
*The opening scene with Shinji and Gendo establishes that Yui "died" in 2004 without leaving a body. Shinji can't remember what she looks like, and Gendo says there aren't any pictures of her left. He remembers, and that's enough "for now."

*Gendo imagines Yui in Re's place, asking him to take care of Shinji. It seems like a memory of something she asked him.

*When Unit 01's core unit refuses the Dummy Plug, Gendo asks Yui why she's rejecting him.

3.0:
*Fuyutsuki asks if Gendo plans to use Unit 13, and says he will follow Gendo for Yui's sake. He thinks Gendo opening up to Shinji would help things along, but Gendo remains silent on the matter.

*Yui's maiden name was Ayanami and she was formerly one of Fuyutsuki's students. She came up with and tested the idea of entering an Eva's core herself, and now she's part of Unit 01's control system/pilot interface. Shinji was present for the experiment but had his memory erased. Fuyutsuki's photo showed that Yui brought him to the main Eva control building at least once.

*Rei is a replica made from Yui's "data" that was left behind.

*After he mindscrews Shinji, Fuyutsuki laments his role and asks Yui if this is what she wanted.

*Finally, Gendo says the time of the final covenant is coming, and that he and Yui will see each other soon.

There are a couple things that stick out to me in all of this, most notably Fuyutsuki's comment from 1.0. If their scenario was devised 14 years prior, then it almost certainly happened while Yui was still alive. That would put it somewhere in the range of 2001-2003, depending on 1.0's date.

Does that mean Yui was one of the masterminds of their plot this time? NGE gave me the impression that she and Gendo weren't on the same page with their goals, and that his path was changed by her "accidental" disappearance into Unit 01. Between Yui asking Gendo to take care of their son and Fuyutsuki's talk of Yui's wishes, I really think that the Rebuild scenario was something the three of them came up with together instead. It seems like Yui fusing with Unit 01 and their eventual reunion was part of the plan all along.

Does that mean Gendo neglecting Shinji was also part of the plan, or is that just him being a shitty parent again? I think most of it is the latter since Fuyutsuki encourages him to spill the beans to Shinji and Yui says to take care of him, but the memory erasing and mindscrewing shenanigans throw some doubt on the matter.

And what does that mean for Rei? The plot is 14 years old, but if Rei was only created after Yui's accident, then she was born in 2004 or later. That would mean they either had Rei in the planning stages before Yui vanished, or that some kind of Rei might have already existed at that point.

What do you all think?

[Reichu]

Another thing from 1.0 that should probably go in the list is the "if a boy, Shinji; if a girl, Rei" flashback from after the 4th Angel fight.

[BlueBasilisk]

Good call! I completely forgot about that scene, but I'll add it to the list.

Right after that, Shinji hears Rei mulling over their names and trying out "Shinji Ayanami" and "Rei Ikari." Do you suppose that's relevant?

[Reichu]

Right after that, Shinji hears Rei mulling over their names and trying out "Shinji Ayanami" and "Rei Ikari." Do you suppose that's relevant?

It always was a curious and mysterious detail. I've never quite been sure what to make of it. Maybe it has to do with a couple of ENT's pecularities: Gendo's Rokubungi being replaced with Yui's Ayanami, along with the proliferance of -nami surnames (Ayanami, Shikinami, Makinami). Exactly what, I'm not sure, since it's anyone's guess at this point what's fomenting there.

A bit of thread-relevant trivia: in a deleted scene from 2.0, Fuyutsuki tells Gendo to, "Stop the brainwashing. Yui is sad."