Neon Genesis Evangelion Forum

Does anyone know what the meaning of the last episode of the series is?  Why did the setting shift from depressing reality to typical feelgood high school anime fantasy?  Is this because Shinji realized something that metaphorically changed the setting? Did Shinji get the power to make anything happen through instrumentality?  What is instrumentality exactly? Or is this whole series just a way for its authors to express abstractly and unsuccessfully the pain that they want to express that in the end it makes no sense except to its authors?

DO YOU MEAN THIS EPISODE: Take care of yourself.?

I wonder if they had any clue what was going on by the end. My understanding of what happens in the last episode was that it was Shinji learning that there was more to his life than being an Eva pilot, as we're shown with the cheery high school fantasy. This was supposed to be a world where there were no Evas, Angels, NERV etc and Second Impact never happened. 
After going through all the stuffe from this episode and the last, Shinji decides that life in the real world, though painful, is preferable to Instrumentality and so he rejects it, as shown with the bit where everyone is clapping.
I think you need to watch the film, End of Evangelion, to get a good idea of what happens in the last two episodes.
That was my understanding of the last episode, theres a lot more to it I think, but thats the basic idea.

@pelletboy: @WestboundRobN: The physical form of the Human Instrumentality Program is more clearly seen in the End of Evangelion movie, but through it, the final episode of the series can be explained as well. All living things are made of LCL, the fluid in the plug units that serve as cockpits for Evas, the blood of the Angel Lilith. Instrumentality, through the awakening of both Eva Unit 1 and Rei Ayanami tears away the weak AT-fields that all people have which allows them to maintain their physical forms, turning the world into a large sea of LCL.

This sea has only a single consciousness, no Ego. What Shinji in the final episode goes through is his psyche coming to accept instrumentality, giving up its sense of self, and embracing whatever ideal world the grand consciousness of the sea of LCL will engulf him in. That final scene where everyone he knows is standing there congratulating him is him achieving instrumentality, and all of what use to be humanity welcoming him into the fold.

End of Evangelion's ending however has Shinji refusing instrumentality. We are not privy to as much of his personal psyche in this version, but we do see him regaining human form, his Ego being powerful enough. The only other character within the show with such a powerful ego is Asuka, hence why they are ultimately alone in this sea of LCL.