>>14151214Don't you understand that Rei had the technical capacity to become the androgynous nothing-god that Seele wanted her to be? They were literally creating a living baphomet, or ein-soph, or whatever specific version you like to think of for this entity.
Her development through the show led her to reject their evil plan as well as Gendo's pointless physically-boudn plan (to resurrect his dead wife and abort instrumentality) and instead makes shinji into the king of the universe because she loved him. This is the most extreme recognition of her progress as a character from someone who could make no choices of her own and only follow orders to someone who could defy the plans of her superiors for a better purpose.
I agree with everything you say about Misato though, and for that reason I maintain she was an illustration for the Mother that Asuka was for the Lover. Each either intentionally rejects or fails to achieve the important elements in these roles. At the same time, each of them had the potential to transcend the pure but undeveloped love from somebody like Hikari.
