But the whole 3.0 + 1.0 trailer, the lyrics to "One Last Kiss", the cover for "One Last Kiss" featuring Shinji and Rei (Q) and the idea of Gendo "putting (Yui) Ayanami's data" in the Rei clones have me thinking about the whole Shinji-Rei relationship in the Rebuild movies. Rebuild seems to be shipping Shinji x Rei, which is pretty squicky considering that Rei is a clone of his mother, and that Rei 2 ("Poka Rei") even has his mother's "data" in her. But a couple of pieces of odd information have snapped into place and made me wonder if Shinji is not who we think he is this time around.
I think it's possible that Shinji isn't Gendo and Yui's biological son this time around, but rather a one-of-a-kind clone of Gendo, created in a different process than the Ayanami clones. The idea popped into my head when someone commented on how Gendo-like Shinji looks in the trailer (image from the redditor who posted the new trailer screenshots)
You could argue, rightly, that this is a flimsy and ridiculous thing to base the "Shinji is a clone" idea on, especially since it's established that Gendo in NGE looks a helluva lot like a older Shinji and is very much what someone like Shinji could grow into (As someone who mostly used either a bear or a young Gendo as an avatar, I know).
Shinji doesn't recognize the maternal connection with Rei and even Gendo seems intent on Shinji making contact with Rei. Shinji's whole desire to save Rei from the 10th Angel and setting up the impact that followed were done from the perspective of a lover, not a son. Why is Shinji so oblivious to Rei's connection to his mother, which took time to establish in NGE but was nevertheless present, subliminally, from the very beginning? It's absent in NTE, which is weird when you see Fuyutsuki show Shinji a picture of Yui with him as a baby. However, Fuyutsuki may not be the most reliable of narrators this time around, and while he may not be lying outright, he could easily be omitting crucial information about Shinji's conception and birth.
There's also Gendo's relationship to Shinji. Gendo is cold and claps Shinji in irons for his Eva-enhanced tantrum about "losing someone he loved" in 2.0. He seems more uncaring of Shinji than ever before, letting Shinji come within an iota of being cooked by the 6th Angel. He has a strong emotional reaction to Shinji calling him "father" before the 10th Angel bashes in. Gendo seems to be even colder when Shinji returns after 14 years, using him like more of a tool than ever before and without so much as the pretense of treating him like a son (such as at the start of 2.0 when he went to visit Yui's grave). Even if Gendo was a cold bastard to his son in NGE, something is clearly off about the way he treats his son in NTE.
In 1.0, there's that bizarre scene in the Eva after the Sachiel battle where Shinji hears Gendo and Yui talking about naming their children, and Yui's voice blends into Rei's in that sequence. "Ikari Shinji, Ayanami Rei" are the settled names for their children. If Ayanami Yui's clone is Ayanami Rei, Ikari Gendo's clone, by analogy, is Ikari Shinji. It's bonkers, but it's the only thing I can think of that makes that sequence work while having a Shinji x Rei romantic relationship, as opposed to a sibling relationship.
There's also Fuyutsuki's line about "Children who have fate built into them" - I imagine that Gendo with Yui by his side would rather subject a clone than an actual biological son to such a fate, and it might have been easier for Gendo to imbue a clone of himself with the necessary data, alter its memories, and send it on its way.
Given the absent maternal element in Rebuild, how would Shinji being a clone of Gendo change things going forward?
It would change the relationship between Gendo and Shinji from father and son to donor and subject, and so break whatever filial bonds Shinji had with Gendo. Shinji would probably be released from any desire to fulfil his father's wishes. It would also break Shinji's bonds to his "mother" Yui in favor of Rei as a lover. Rei's desire towards Shinji would be turned over as well, as possibly would some of her relationship with Lilith. With all past bonds broken, Shinji would have to forge new ones forward and find a place of happiness in his life without relying on those who were "related" to him.
There's less than a month before which this crazy theory could be proven wrong, but I have a sneaky feeling that at least something in this craziness will be proven right.
