This episode started to show Shinji more in conflict with communicating with those around him. He and Misato argues a little bit, and the series really looked serious in this episode, along with Shinji's second fight with an Angel. He got his ass chewed out when he didn't obey Misato's orders to retreat, despite the fact that he won the battle. All in all, this episode had some action, and drama, so it was pretty well balanced.