I've seen people draw parallels between TADC (especially the last episode) and Evangelion, the most I know about Eva is from your videos on it so I kinda wanna hear your thoughts on the parallels bc it sounds interesting
The first thing I said to Clark after seeing it in theaters was 'That was some fuckin' End of Eva shit.' Honestly, if we consider Episode 8 and 9 two halves of a whole (which the official release certainly seems to want us to), then the pace of the whole thing matches Episode 25 and 26 of the End of Eva quite well. Episode 8 with it's quiet before the storm as we see the different factions preparing to make their next moves as the reclusive loner sets up why they're about to fail miserably, then shit hitting the fan, eventually climaxing with character death and the end of the fucking world. The remainder of final episode is then mostly about sifting through the ashes, picking up the pieces, and getting sucked into an abstract dreamscape where we try to figure out why in god's name it had to end this way.
It's big difference is that the tailend of EoE is more or less dedicated to explaining why it IS Shinji's fault and that, while a lot of people may have failed him, his actions are still ultimately on Him. This is in direct contrast to the last episode of the original series, which very much absolved Shinji of all the things he'd done and tries to guide him towards happiness and self-acceptance. TADC on the other hand, kinda strives to walk the line between the two: At once refusing to let Jax off the hook, holding her to account for the many fucking terrible things she absolutely DID do, all the many very justifiable reasons she has to hate herself, and the countless regrets she has that she will NEVER gain absolution from.
And yet, it also refuses to condemn her for that. Pity her, sure; imply she's past the point of saving, maybe - but not condemn her.
Cause what good will that do? That won't make her heal. That won't make her happy. That won't help anyone else. It will just make things worse. She's already crueler to herself then you ever could be. This wouldn't be happening otherwise. She doesn't need punishment, she doesn't need another standard to fail to live up to. She needs acceptance, from herself and others.
And that is basically the core point and narrative outlook of the End of TV.
To me, it reads a lot like if the End of Evangelion loved the audience as much as the End of TV did. The most proper comparison that I would make is actually the finale of the final Rebuild movie, specifically of Asuka's storyline: Letting go of escapism and tendency towards self-isolation to let yourself be taken care of while you recover, as you trust someone to love you even at your most unlovable.
Except I have complicated feelings about how Asuka's story wraps there. I like it, but it is absolutely thorny. Jax is better in that regard. Much better. My hot take is that Jax is an Asuka/Shinji slimebaby. Just like Asuka, she has all the same performative self-aggrandizement to protect her own ego, reflexive need to lash out at anyone who gets close, to insist she doesn't need anyone as she claws at her chest in loneliness, and the same bitterness that everyone else isn't handling things as well as she is (even though she is objectively not handling them well). However, she has the same self-loathing, eggy dissociative impulses, internalized misogyny, self-disgust, and tendency to run away from anything emotionally challenging that Shinji has. She is the worst of both of them, rolled into one. And she's still deserves, and has found, love. But first, she needs to stop running away from it, most of all from the love she can offer herself. And I think she does in the end.
Hey, here's a quick question: Who's POV is the 'Isn't she lovely' montage supposed to be? Pomni's as she gets ejected? Just the audience's as a recap of the story? Or Jax finally coming to terms with herself in the last moment she has? It's ambiguous for sure, but I know my reading.
Maybe that's also why I'm so sure that it will actually end happily for Jax even now. Just as surely as Shinji crawled out of instrumentality at the End of TV to find happiness, I have no doubt Jax will find her way back in time. It's all just a matter of having time to heal and the right space to do it in. Suffice to say, as someone who has been deeply molded by Eva, I think the comparison is apt.
