Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Shinji remains embarrassed by Misato's untidy home and casual habits, especially when his classmates admire her polished public appearance. At Nerv, Ritsuko gives him a more troubling explanation of the disaster called Second Impact: the meteor story taught at school concealed an incident involving an Angel in Antarctica. Misato and Ritsuko then attend a demonstration of Jet Alone, a rival defense project designed to operate without an Eva pilot. Its representative dismisses Nerv's safety objections and promotes the robot's nuclear reactor as an advantage. During the demonstration, however, the machine stops responding to commands and walks away as its reactor approaches a meltdown.
Misato summons Shinji and plans to board the runaway robot while Unit-01 restrains it. Obtaining the shutdown password takes time because the project's officials pass responsibility among themselves. Once inside, Misato finds that the code does not work and tries to move the reactor's control rods manually. The crisis suddenly resolves when the system resets, leaving her suspicious of how neatly the danger disappeared. Ritsuko's later report to Gendo confirms that Jet Alone's failure followed their plan, apart from Misato's intervention. Back at home, Shinji again complains about his guardian. Toji and Kensuke suggest that she behaves so freely around him because she regards him as family.