knightofbalance-13:

I know a lot of people are questioning why Hiro can pilot with Ichigo when it was ‘said” he could only pilot with Zero Two.

Well, I have two answers for this: One based in the show and one based in the meta around it.

1. He could always pilot with others…he just didn’t connect with anyone other than Zero Two. They both sought out a purpose in life and both were desperate to achieve their purpose so they naturally clicked with one another. Before no0w, Ichigo wasn’t compatible with Hiro because she was obsessed with her feelings towards him and just couldn’t connect with him. But with Goro showing her how she should be acting if she loved Hiro, the two actually did connect since they had a common goal: getting Hiro to Zero two.

2. Probably the right answer: tension and pay off. Ichigo has been clashing with Zero two since the beginning. Not only that, she has been acting in her own sole interest regarding her feelings for Hiro instead of his feelings as well as failing as a leader when it came to Hiro. Here, getting her to sync with Hiro finally gets it through to Ichigo she simply can’t be with him, she can give an act of true love towards Hiro by doing what would make him happy, she can do what any good leader would and get her strongest team together and finally, she can earn back the trust of the audience from her actions in Episode 14 while using those events to showcase actual damaging flaws in her character.