Just a couple of things I can parse from the non-finalized version of episode 24′s script, as included in The Complete Script Book:
After Ryuko and Senketsu’s final battle with Ragyo, Ryuko tells Ragyo to come back to Earth with them, referring to Ragyo as “Mom.” In the non-finalized script, Ragyo actually has an extra line responding to Ryuko’s usage of the word “mom” here, with her saying, “…“Mom,” huh?” (….かあさんだと）
Ryuko and Ragyo also have an additional exchange:
Ragyo: What meaning is there in a universe without Life Fibers? (生命戦維のない星に何の意味がある)
Ryuko: I have meaning. Satsuki has meaning. Humans have meaning. Now that it’s over, nobody wants you to die. (私はいる、皐月がいる、人間がいる。けりが付くいた以上、誰もあんたが死ぬことは望んでいない)
Notably, Ryuko uses the word あんた (anta) to refer to Ragyo here, whereas she normally uses てめえ (temee), which is such a crude, rude way of addressing someone that it’s pretty much an anime-only sort of thing and never really used in reality. English translations often use the word “bitch” or other similar words for てめえ, and while あんた isn’t exactly polite, either, it’s a step in that direction—and this is coming from Ryuko, who refers to even Senketsu with お前 (omae), which is pretty coarse*.
I say Ryuko’s use of あんた for Ragyo is “notable” because it represents—more than just the meaning of her words do—that despite everything, Ryuko still wants Ragyo to love and care for her like a mother would. The way Ryuko explicitly mentions herself and Satsuki as reasons to live only furthers this idea; it’s as though Ryuko is asking, “How could you possibly say that there is nothing left to live for when you have two daughters?” A part of Ryuko still wants that fantasy she saw—she still wants that perfect, loving Ragyo she wished she grew up with.
And the script might imply some semblance of remorse from Ragyo that she isn’t that at all when she questions Ryuko calling her “Mom.” I explored it a bit in a(n unfortunately poorly-worded, insensitive) post before, but there is a sense of meaninglessness in Ragyo’s ending. Ragyo dedicated her everything to the Life Fibers, pushed away all her humanity, was an absolutely despicable, vile, narcissistic, horrible person, and it gets her… nothing. Ragyo lived her life as an abomination of a human being who doesn’t even begin to deserve to be called “Mom”—and in the script, she recognizes this. Her entire existence was an utter waste.
While these cut lines may have been removed for timing purposes, it might have also been because they veer into making Ragyo sympathetic. Her character is wholly and completely unforgivable, and even if she does have regrets, it doesn’t change the fact that her actions are not anything that can just be brushed away and forgotten.
Still, the lines add depth that I don’t find worthless. Unwavering, unquestioning loyalty is destructive and ultimately amounts to nothing but unfulfilled desires and dreams. Ryuko will never have that childhood fantasy where Ragyo was her doting, supportive mother, and she’ll never even get anything close no matter how much she still desires it. Ragyo destroyed herself with her shallow beliefs long, long ago.
*My Japanese is extremely limited, so any corrections/additions are much appreciated.
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