...definitely a better ending than Mass Effect 3.
As for what happened with the funding for the series, I had assumed that much in the final two episodes rather than assuming that they actually wanted to end it with something so visually unspectacular and uncertain.
I think everybody's thoughts on the first half of EoE are universally the same; it's f**king incredible, epic, and it's clear where everybody is trying to go. The second half turned into a something much more abstract, it really was the visual interpretation of the final two episodes with a layer of story context over it. It does drip into pretentious areas (that very well may serve a greater meaning) such as reflecting back to the audience by showing clips of [our] reality and the theater audience itself-- being reality as we perceive it... a lot of that, while interesting in how it was layered, wasn't necessarily adding anything to the story that was attempting to be told.
The religious significance went over my head, and I'm wondering if Christianity is an existing belief within the NGE universe or if the presentation of the Angels is what brought the imagery such as Lilith (in replacement of Jesus) being nailed to the cross as opposed to replicating humanity's existing beliefs... oh f**k,
my head.
I also realize that Shinji was forming what reality would ultimately become along with Rei (seemingly mirroring Adam and Eve), and that his mental indecisiveness would be the struggle between having humanity be formed as individuals or as one entity. Particularly appreciated the part where he built the pyramid in the sandbox, representing the GeoFront, it supposedly being where life was formed. Ultimately, chosing individual existence over instrumentality, he returns to Earth, a desolate waste with nobody else around. Though he wished for individuality, he is seemingly the only individual... but beside him is Asuka.
"How disgusting."
To make a horrifying, sad, lonely, and cold ending 'worse', she tops it off with resentment. It kinda takes "not if you were the last guy on Earth" to another level. However, Shinji's ability to percieve others is based on how he sees them; if every other human is gone, is Asuka simply the work of his mind, and her final words to him simply confirmation of the pain and betrayal of returning to individuality? It's all very uncertain to me at this point, but it currently is one of the saddest, most bleak endings. If destiny is the end of all things, what value does destiny hold?
Humanity is destroyed, all that remains is a sobbing boy left to live out the rest of his days in the lonely purgatory he has created for himself and a forever drifting angel. This is quite possibly the most depressing ending I've ever experienced.
