autism

On some level, I can understand why Ichigo did what she did this episode. She's a teenager completely uneducated on sex and emotions. Her emotions are out of fucking control after realizing Hiro could die while piloting with Zero Two. She didn't know about the joined minds thing Hiro and Zero Two experienced, and doesn't know their shared past, much less Zero Two's actual circumstances.

After Hiro got choked half to death and passed out, Ichigo went absolutely nuts with the kind of worry she isn't emotionally equipped to handle, and the only one she (or anyone) could blame for his near-death was Zero Two. Because it WAS Zero Two's fault. And Ichigo shook off the confusion she felt after Goro's confession and found she very definitely loves Hiro (she was just cunt enough not to be real with Goro afterwards, because now she's 100% Hiro all the time with no regard for anyone else). From then on she acted solely to preserve her would-be husband, even forcing herself on him to keep him away from the perceived danger that is Zero Two. She did all these things because she doesn't know the RIGHT way to do things in a situation that is alien not only to herself, but the rest of their society.

Ichigo wasn't the worst part about the episode for me (the convenient timing of Hiro's escape to help facilitate the rift between him and Zero Two was horseshit). I can understand her one-track mind and craziness on a characterization level. But, we all know that this whole thing is for nothing and that Ichigo literally cannot win as long as Zero Two draws breath. I have a lot more thoughts on this, though.