ChaddyManPrime: Although Asuka's defense mechanisms require that she push people away from her vulnerable inner core, she innately desires emotional intimacy, having a true connection to someone else. Shinji is unable to break through her wall even though, on some level, she wants him to; so she defaults to blaming him for his inability to help her, rather than taking responsibility for how her own behavior is impeding him from acting as she desires. "Help" here is, I suspect, in the general sense of providing companionship and moral support.
pwhodges wrote:The two remarks could be not so intimately linked
Why would you think so? Mari is telling Shinji, in the present time, to go help Asuka. Shortly thereafter, Asuka, upon finding Shinji, comments upon his lack of helpfulness with reference to his present selfish state. Both young women are helping Shinji get out of the precarious circumstances his distrust and impulsiveness have gotten himself in: Mari, from the confines of Eva-13 during 4I, and Asuka, from the entry plug itself and the red waste it's stranded in. They both indicate that Shinji's behavior is babyish; perhaps not coincidentally, they both act as symbolic midwives, forcing the infantile Shinji out of a double-layered womb. They seem about as intimately linked as two scenes can be. While I'm certain there's something we're missing here, I'm doubtful we'll find it if we can't take at face value the parts that are actually right in front of us.
I'm also at a loss for how suddenly referencing the 9th Angel incident makes any sense in the given context. The situations are absolutely nothing alike, so why in the world would Mari even consider bringing it up?
Note that your post doesn't address Asuka's lines at all, and they're half of the problem.
