Rei I, II, and III The same person or different people?

[Karma Burn]

Of course all three Reis are the same person. I don't see why that's so hard to believe. If God can be three incarnations at once, why not Rei? Maybe it's just more subtle religious symbolism. (A cold chill has just run down my back, why do I suddenly have this feeling of dread that people are going to turn that into another crazy theory?)

[advent_child]

Of course all three Reis are the same person. I don't see why that's so hard to believe. If God can be three incarnations at once, why not Rei? Maybe it's just more subtle religious symbolism. (A cold chill has just run down my back, why do I suddenly have this feeling of dread that people are going to turn that into another crazy theory?)

I never thought it this way,you may have right about the number 3..just like God..

[Dark FireStar]

wait i just thought of somthing

~what if all 3 reis symboylis somthing like Rei 1 purity, childhood inocence that meets a tragic end or somthing

~theres a lot of static on here

[Kiel]

I've always liked to think that the three Rei's are looking over Shinji and Asuka from heaven at the end of EOE.

I could picture it now...

(on cloud number9)

Rei I: So then, after I told her the truth, she STRANGLED ME!

Rei II: NO! Really?! That's mean...

Rei I: I know!

Rei II: Well, Unit-00 tried to kill Ritsuko once.

Rei I: Not that big of a surprise really...what are the two kids up to now?

Rei II: Looks like Shinji is Strangling Asuka!

Rei I: Geez, what a meanie! Everybody in this damn cartoon is MEAN!

*appears in heaven*

Rei III: What'd I miss?

[Timesplitter 01]

I've always liked to think that the three Rei's are looking over Shinji and Asuka from heaven at the end of EOE.

I could picture it now...

(on cloud number9)

Rei I: So then, after I told her the truth, she STRANGLED ME!

Rei II: NO! Really?! That's mean...

Rei I: I know!

Rei II: Well, Unit-00 tried to kill Ritsuko once.

Rei I: Not that big of a surprise really...what are the two kids up to now?

Rei II: Looks like Shinji is Strangling Asuka!

Rei I: Geez, what a meanie! Everybody in this damn cartoon is MEAN!

*appears in heaven*

Rei III: What'd I miss?

:? Relevance

[sadsadshinji]

its the same soul and whatever memories have been implanted (thats why she gets stuck in a tube, to share memories) and a different body... so in a way she is like a person with save points... at least for her... (ie: you can rewind and erase memories)

[Kiel]

I hate to change the topic slightly, but I guess it's relevent.

Rei's apartment reflects the place where she was born, acording to Ritsuko.

But exactly what purpose did that room serve down at the bottom in the depths of NERV?

Was it some sort of surgery room to prepare the new Rei body clones for Rei's soul?

Was it used for some kind of mental conditioning?

I think it may have some kind of influence on how each of the Rei's acted.

But, of course, this is just me talkin' here.

Any ideas?

[sadsadshinji]

well...they needed a medical room (hence the medical bed thing) out of the way where no one would find it...
and i dont think the room affected Rei's personality... but perhaps it was mental conditioning...
and who made Rei? it wasnt naoko...just some other scientists?

[the_seventh_child]

I don't understand how can a room affect a person's personality and especially Rei's..

[Kiel]

Well, think about it...

How did they get Rei's "Soul" from one clone to the next?

I've always found that Rei's room reflected her somewhat cold, calculated mannerisms and her distant nature. While she wasn't devoid of emotion, it seemed more like she didn't know how to show/express them.

Maybe it wasn't that her room reflected her personality, maybe it was that her personality reflected the room.

:? I dunno...I'm just ranting here.

I just think that there's more to that room to Rei than was shown in the series.

[Dave]

The water and light that form Rei's subconscious must have a strong impression of this place.

[sadsadshinji]

well...there was that seemingly random writing on the walls...and some other stuff...maybe the atmosphere? (gloomy and somewhat dark)
and the soul transfer might have, as someone else said through the body (in whatever shape it was) back into another clone...

[Tsukasa]

Rei 1, 2 and 3 all have the same soul, they are just simply different clones of the original Rei strangled by Naoko Akagi.

[Nuclear Lunchbox]

I'd run with the fact that they have the same brain impulses and memories, along with the same soul. Each body is different, but it can be said that they are, in effect, the same person.

[NemZ]

EPIC NECROBUMP!

[Stryker]

I don't think any bump can top this one in it's magnitude of Necrocity.

[K40s]

Just wanted to note, it can't be the same soul going from Rei 1 to Rei 2, because Rei 1's is in eva-00.

Rei 1 and Rei 2 souls exist concurrently during most of the series.

[NemZ]

As I see it, Lilith becomes Rei 1, is split into Rei2 and Unit0, which are later recombined (possibly with Armisarael and all the other non-Adam angels as well?) into Rei3, who finally merges with Adam and her original body to become GNR.

They are different each time because they are broken up or merged with others, and have different experiences along the way, but it's still the same soul throughout.

Bagheera had another theory a while ago that seemed viable, but I'm not sure I can explain it clearly/correctly.

[MarioAyanami128]

My theory may be a bit different from the rest, but I'm convinced of it.
I believe that, while all Reis have the same soul, they are different people (a theme that is a recurring element in the series is the search for an identity). Although her spirit may be passed on from clone to clone, hence why Rei III remembers stuff from Rei II's life (which explains my point of view of Rei II being blindly attached to Gendo UNTIL she discovered his intentions with her), I think Rei I is the most distant incarnation of the trio. She is the very incarnation of Rei's dark side and even Evil itself, something that I got under the impression during episode 23. This is why I think that Rei I is actually a kind of experiment, while Rei II is the final version of what Gendo wanted her to be. But this is one of the things in the series that I can't find a solid explanation.
Also, I have some comments in this thread stating that Gendo only saw Rei as a tool to meet his goals. That is partly true, but you forget that a key point that marks the villain's character is his attachment to his wife, and while he couldn't see her physically, he saw Yui in Rei herself (as evidenced in Evangelion 2.22), leading him to an impression that his wife exists. Therefore, Rei may be a tool in the end, yes, but during the events of the series, Gendo sees her one of the few people he can trust and find happiness.

[Bagheera]

Bagheera had another theory a while ago that seemed viable, but I'm not sure I can explain it clearly/correctly.

The short version: there are no splits, because Nerv is incompetent.

The less-short version:
-- Nerv tries to get Yui back, gets Lilith instead (in the form of Rei I). Rei I dies, goes back to Lilith (because Lilith can do this, as seen in EoE and presumably offscreen with Kaji).
-- Gendo goes "shit, lost my Reibot." He frets, then says "well, it worked once, so we'll do it again." He does whatever he did when trying to get Yui back the first time and gets Rei II.
-- Rei II sits in Unit 00, and of course nothing happens since it has no soul. She does a CE, and her soul gets split a la Kyoko (but Rei handles it better because LILITH). So the crazy we saw in Rei I and later on in Lilith becomes Unit 00's soul, which is why it's so unstable.
-- Rei II goes BOOM! Lilith collects the pieces of her soul ("This deal gets worse all the time . . . ").
-- Gendo rinses and repeats, hoping the memory backup deal we see in the later episodes is enough to do the trick. But Lilith is tired of this merry-go-round business and becomes cranky and petulant as a result, hence her telling Gendo to fuck off when he starts molesting her (not that she'd need a reason, but still).
-- Rei III rejoins Lilith and spends EoTV and part of EoE trying to sort all this shit out (hence three Reis and whatever the fuck that thing from Unit 00 was).

AFAICR no one's brought up any major problems with this theory to date. It relies solely on mechanics seen in the show, does not assume Nerv has some sort of soul manipulation tech that's neither seen nor referenced in the show, and explains the four distinct personas seen in the endings (which would not be expected with recycled souls that did not return to the source). I can't say it's definitely what happened but it does seem to be less problematic than any of the alternatives presented to date.