We are back again and ready to dive into the back half of Neon Genesis Evangelion with episodes 14 through 20.

We start by looking at what actually turned out to be a fairly interesting clip show episode and use it to spring into a discussion of the shift towards greater interiority and the developing undercurrents in the second half of the series; the growing characterization of Rei; Misato and Kaji as a (not always well handled) brat4brat relationship and how it factors into our read of Misato as well as Asuka as a “female impersonator” of Misato; our read on Kaji as an interesting but often creepy character; Eva’s ongoing construction of divided subjects; the psychoanalytic elements of the series and Connor’s theory bullshit about Kristeva’s ideas about abjection; the abjection of queerness; the role of ego in sync rate and pilot performance; the solidification of the show’s thematic elements in order to develop further in the finale; the misdirected desire for comfort that must be resisted to reassert selfhood and allow the potential for further life; our continuing kicking of the Mimesis can down the Ghost Divers road; and an extended discussion of one of our favorite sparsely animated scenes.

Next time we will be joined by guest Brad Nelson to talk about episodes 21 through 26!

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The Show: @ghostdiverspod

Also as a fun note: About a week before this episode was released, Connor finally subscribed to the Patreon in order to listen to Niamh’s new movie podcast with Autumn called Ornate Stairwells! You can check out the public feed for Ornate Stairwells at exportaud.io/ornatestairwells or listen to the episodes early by becoming a patron yourself at exportaud.io.

I mean, not episodes of Ghost Divers early, just episodes of Ornate Stairwells early. I’m not putting any more pressure on myself to edit stuff early, and I think this podcast works best if you know exactly when to expect new episodes.

Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection by Julia Kristeva

Discussion of grooming and sexual abuse

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