The Angels not being represented in the mindscape encounter between Rei and Armisael is non-indicative of whether or not they're there. Rei bluntly mentions, for example, "the me within the Eva" (the part of Lilith's soul in Eva-00's core), but this aspect of Rei does not participate in the conversation.
>Besides, the term "man" is used in the show only when referring to mankind as in "Homo sapiens collective", in contrast to the more generic "human", which applies to Angels and Lilin alike.
In this particular case, "man" is otoko, or "male person". As far as the claims above: all three of the major "human" terms in Japanese (hito, ningen, jinrui) are used at some point to refer to Adam's Children. (Armisael is "a hito/person that we call an Angel"; the Angels collectively are "a jinrui/humanity that cast aside ningen/human form".)
Regarding the lake scene in general, I don't believe that it's MERELY the Angels speaking. The scene is (IMO) deliberately designed to be read two different ways -- it's both Seele and the Angels at the same time. (For a very crude comparison, consider how episode 16 had Shinji debating with both himself and Leliel simultaneously.) Another time, I will (attempt to) walk through both versions, consulting the original Japanese while doing so. (I'll address your other points at this time.) It could go absolutely nowhere, but I figure it's worth a shot.
This seems pretty on-point to me. Good breakdown. Only parts I feel any need to comment upon:
>We see him fusing the Adam's sample with his hand and taking it to some part of Rei's interior (probably her uterus)
The "impregnation" imagery is certainly there, though to be pedantic, the uterus only goes up to navel height when it's been distended with child. The default location of the uterus is right around where the abdomen ends and the groin begins (i.e. the cutoff point for oversized bellies). This is another "NGE doing two things at once" deals -- Gendo is "impregnating" Rei with the embryo via his arm-phallus, but also Gendo's arm is a symbolic umbilical cord connecting him and Rei, which she, of course, severs when she doesn't need him anymore.
> without her soul the most meaningful action she took in the entire show was to grow legs. Presumably, Seeds of Life (or at least, the ones without the FoL) were "single use only".
Lilith's case may have been unique. Consider that she just hung on that cross for ten or so years barely doing anything -- comparing her state during Eva-01's "birthing" to when she's seen in episode #15, there's no real difference other than that Eva-01 has been separated, Lilith's lower body is bubbling up and sprouting little legs, and her arms are fully restored.
The Spear is stuck in her for well less than a year, and the second it's removed, Lilith regenerates. It goes against traditional wisdom about the Spear, but the implication is pretty clear to me: it helped her regenerate. Why would it regenerate Lilith, whereas it froze Adam and killed Arael?
The position Adam is frozen in, within the White Moon, strongly resembles a drowned corpse (and even seems to be buried in ice), suggesting Adam is impaled in the subterranean pool. (The Moons have near-identical configurations, so there should be an equivalent to the "salt pillar room" where 01 and 02 fight.) Had Adam simply been taken by surprise and skewered from behind by her own Spear, one might expect a very different pose, something closer to what happened to Eva-02. Spear goes all the way through body; Seed/Eva falls until the tines of the spear catch on the ground; Seed/Eva is propped up in an awkward position. But this isn't what we see. Adam looks like she was forcibly held down in the pool and had the Spear driven through her spine, quite possibly until most of the tines' length was buried in the ground/floor. Meaning: Lilith did it. (This would make episode 24 a ceremonial recreation of their battle, ending with "Adam" once again defeated.) She sacrificed her Spear to put Adam into stasis.*
(EDIT: If some of this sounds a bit too over-the-top, a little corroboration. The layers of the Moons leading down to Terminal Dogma are named after the layers of Hell in Dante's Inferno, which implies that the bottom is Cocytus. This lines up nicely with there being a subterranean lake -- I have checked the script, and that IS water and not just salt -- at the bottom of the shaft. Adam's Cocytus would of course be frozen; Lilith imprisoning Adam there would be logically consistent since Adam could be considered the Devil to Lilith's God; blah blah blah.)
This explains why Lilith resorts to using LCL as a mode of creation (she no longer has her mate and has to generate life the REALLY LONG WAY around) and why Lilith is effectively helpless later. This also accounts for the complete weirdness of a Spear being sent to Antarctica from the Dead Sea -- because that was Adam's, and Lilith chucked it out of the White Moon to keep it away from its partner.
Derantor wrote:Huh, ignoring the lack of support for a moment, that actually sounds rather convincing. Notice how it is always Fuyutsuki who speaks to Yui and explains what she wants?
Off the top of my head, Gendo never does that. He only wants her back and complains when she won't let herself be piloted by the dummy plug. That would explain why Gendo (apparently) has yet another, different plan from Yui's: She never told him, she only told Fuyutsuki. He might not be her love, but he definitely is the one she trusts. The best friend. The nice guy. And then he fathers her future husband with her to replace himself. Yes, somehow I can see exactly that happening. It also forces Gendo to become Oedipus, which fits right in. (snip)
Yeah, even as "subliminally-encoded complete batshit insanity", I quite like it. It gives closure to Fuyutsuki's character where previously none existed. He is trusted by Yui so completely that he's entrusted with a level of power that could hypothetically supplant her own. And also, if I'm on the right track about the Spear being the male complement to the Seed -- damn, that is intimate. That shakes up their previous relationship in interesting ways. Officially speaking, Fuyutsuki would be the Divine Mate. His total devotion to both Yui and to humanity itself makes him completely perfect for the role.
Now, there is also the utterly absurd idea I mentioned earlier about Gendo turning his soul into a woman's so he could become Adam. His death scene could be presaging an entirely different fate for him. He doesn't get to become Adam, but... Consider, he is visited by the avatars of the three Seeds on Earth. Yui and Rei actually make sense, but Kaworu only kinda sorta makes sense on account of Gendo fusing himself to the Adam embryo. On its own, this hardly feels like reason enough to justify one of Kaworu's only appearances, so let's just say that it's not the full reason. Maybe another reason for Kaworu being there is because Gendo's death as a Lilin is also serving as his induction into another form of being. The Seeds are welcoming him into their club. Say good-bye to your male parts -- you definitely won't be needing those in the next life!
Yes, completely and utterly absurd, and I'm not sure how much I actually buy into it. Gendo failing so completely as a father that he's rebooted into a mother for the next life is kind of morbidly amusing, though. Also, if Gendo becomes a Seed, that means that Yui could hypothetically kick him... er, her?... off the planet to start a career in colonization whenever she gets sick of dealing with his... er, her?... shit. Either that, or Gendo gets to stay there and share the baby-making duty. Lots of souls that need bodies, after all...
*Gendo as an Eva-looking thing laboring to lay a giant egg*
"I see. So this is my retribution..."
EDIT: Added some pics and stuff about Cocytus.
EDIT2: Added something about human terms re: Angels.