The opening scene keeps up with the previous dedication to keeping Kaji in the story this time. To 'flesh out' the scene I referenced Kaji's 'arc' from the anime (finding answers to his questions), and use Kaji to more firmly establish the gravity of what Ikari and Fuyutsuki are up to. Kaji's suspicions were always on the money in the anime, and I hope the same follows for Kenosis.

Asuka relaxing in the pool was ad-libbed (as opposed to doing so anywhere else), but I think it worked out well. The scene's clear and intended purpose is to give Asuka and Shinji a bit more of a bond within the Kenosis story-line itself. Asuka realizes Shinji isn't so unappealing simply because he agrees with her on certain things (namely how 'strange' Rei is.) Asuka gives Shinji a hard time about apologizing all the time (one of the few times in the anime I felt like she was actually trying to do him some good in her own view.) Of course, having Shinji be too gentlemanly too abruptly would spoil the flow of the story, so his usual shy/perverted side creeps up when Asuka pulls her oh-so-beautiful body out of the water, all wet and dripping. The 'quiet but perverted' type always disturbed me the most, which is a good deal of why I dislike Shinji personally.

The start of the next scene is nothing more than fluff between Cirus and Rei (though it does establish that she is fully healed), which I love so much. Ayanami-sama is just so adorable. Of course, they run into Kaji, keeping him involved and 'spreading the word' about something bigger going on within NERV. Ayanami-sama is still quite aware of Gendo's 'new plan' for her, so she is rather averse to being near his office, the physical center of his authority. While Cirus still doesn't find out why Rei hurt her arm again from before, why he comforts more than any other is cast into stark relief for Rei when he is so quick to not impose his desires on her. This, of course, only makes Cirus care even more about her, for many reasons.

The scene inside the command center is almost superfluous plot-wise, but very important for character development. That Shinji would be there listening is, perhaps, a stretch, but I think it remains believable, if stretched, for him. The 'rag-doll' thought-monologue Cirus has, and his interaction with Maya about SEELE are not exactly important, but I very much like having each of them in the story. The only plot issue in the scene is the holistic nature of the damage to district thirty-seven.

The following scene between Gendo and Koso has one of the single biggest additions in Kenosis (thus far). The entire point about the Room of Gauf was added strictly for this edition of the story, and, I think, gives a better foundation for Koso's obvious and continuing shift away from supporting NERV's true purpose (Third Impact), while showing Ikari's almost blind dedication to it. Fuyutsuki's inner monologue about using Rei is probably the single biggest development in his character in Kenosis. Based on this paragraph, his later behavior makes much more sense than without it, in my view. Since the game involving tiles was used by the pair for metaphors before, I decided to copy the idea, even though I don't understand the game itself.

When a character's dream is focused upon within Kenosis, it's a fair bet I'm going to help them deal with the issues presented therein. Dreams can be viewed as a cop-out, yes, but I think they work in Kenosis. If others think not, I won't argue the point. Either way, Asuka is still dealing with her validation issues regarding her mother, and since she's actually starting to really grow and recover as a human being, the pain is becoming more obvious and harder to bear without fixing. That Shinji is the first one she sees in escaping the nightmare is actually more important that is obvious in this scene before Misato arrives to comfort her, Asuka almost regressing to a little girl (which she never allowed herself to be) in asking to stay the night with her. That Shinji's face represented her escape will start to effect her emotions toward him once other issues come into play. One of those tiny events we don't even realize affects our entire lives. I believe in such tiny events in real life, and so I felt it worked in Kenosis.