[EVA] 1.01 - Misato is OK! *Spoilers*

[Drew Lewis]

>I don't fault her necessarily, because she's pretty much the only grown-up
at NERV who's trying to help Shinji. But she just underscores a major gap in
NERV's >planning (if you consider it rationally)--the indifference,
negligence really, towards Shinji's psychological health. This is no mere
detail; it creates problems with his >tactical discipline at NERV, and
almost costs them all their lives.

    It's probably fair to  point out that while  Gendo is many things,  a
soldier doesn't seem to be one of them.  Witness his disastrous decision to
allow the Evas to        engage the rogue Eva-03 separately, in defiance of
one of the basic strategic truths of concentration of force.  The only way
to rationalize the decision as him -not-     being incompetent that I can
think of is that its somehow necessary for Shinji to be pushed to the wall
at that particular time.  I just can't imagine why.

>It's not as if Eva pilot training seems to require Gendo to be an
> equal-opportunity asshole; look at how he treats Rei--or consider that the
> kids in Shinji's class, all >pilot candidates, are presented as a relatively
> normal mix compared to the first three Children. Toji, for example, has had
> trauma in his family, but there is no >suggestion that he's as emotionally
> imbalanced as Rei, Asuka or Shinji--therefore it doesn't seem to be a
> requirement to be an actual pilot (the fact things go >wrong with Unit-03
> isn't his fault).
>
> >Putting aside the fact that he abandoned his son just as an ordinary
> father, if there was ever any possibility he might need Shinji for his
> plan--that is, as an Eva >pilot--you think he would have made some
> provision, either direct or indirect, for Shinji's emotional health as he
> grew up. A dad who doesn't have much time for his >child because he's too
> into his job is one thing, but Gendo went out of his way to alienate Shinji.
> Hasn't he ever heard of an au pair?


    I had the pet theory that Shinji actually wasn't part of the original
plan, and was to Gendo exactly what he treated him as, an unwanted reminder
of what he left behind.  So when he pulls Shinji in at the last minute,
after Rei's poor timing in her injury, its something of a desperation ploy
since he's the only candidate Gendo has that can sure fire sync with
Eva-01.  If so, it would be a neat reversal of the classic prodigal son
situation.