This was such a sad moment. Rei had finally started to open up, and then she dies

Rei was my fav character in this show, and then she dies

No! AYANAMI..

Actually... She didn't die. Her entry plug ejected before the blow. She was in hospital after that, so noo worries

i thought rei died then her soul went in to another rei vessel.

Dory is right

I believe that doing the angel's invasion, Rei gain some of it's powers. Rei then subsciously used her own AT field to save her life. Sadly the ordeal was hard on Rai , she suffer from lose of memory and her identity.